Yes, Donald Trump’s last days in office were worse than we thought

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However, even in the midst of these last, wild days, there is a feeling that for the bad we all see, there are still worse things going on behind closed doors that will not be made public until Trump leaves in office, and began the actual digging of the report.

All three books focus on Trump’s last year in office. And all three present can only be described as a frightening picture of a president consumed by personal hatred and unwilling to consider the limits placed by predecessors on themselves in office.

The stories that emerged painted a frightening picture. Trump called for enforcement of whoever leaked he was taken to the White House bunker as Black Lives Matter protesters marched through the streets of Washington in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020. His reaction on the volcano when Arizona was called for Joe Biden on election night. Trump is furious with former Attorney Bill Barr about (nothing) voter fraud. A brawl between Trump and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley about the appropriate response to the BLM protests that took over the country in the summer of 2020.

There are more stories to emerge from these books. And there will still be one -time readers – and reporters – who get their hands on hard copies and do their own digging into Trump’s last days.

But these stories also present a problem: Each one is, yes, surprising. But the nature of our news cycle is such that as I write this piece, I struggle to remember the individual stories that have already appeared in the books.

The stories that come out of these books – released to cause chaos and, more importantly, the sales early in their release – are often passed, shining bright for a brief moment when the political universe is staring at them but are rapidly disappearing to the extent of our wider news consumption.

That fact is why it is important not to get too caught up in any one revelation that has or will emerge from these books and instead step back and see the broader truth painted in it.

And this fact is this:

* Faced with a century-old public health crisis, Donald Trump not only changed some of the basics (quick test for Covid-19, wearing a mask) but also actively worked to undermine public confidence in himself doctors, epidemiologists and public health experts working to keep Americans safe.

* Unable to accept that he lost the election, Trump intends to use official government powers – including the Department of Justice – to try to find no evidence of fraud. He created an environment where a large chunk of Americans believed this Big Lie about the election and then not only drove the crowd on Jan. 6 but also stood for hours as they floated around the Capitol.

* Trump, who repeatedly told the audience during the campaign that he has done more for Blacks than any president since Abraham Lincoln, has failed to understand either the gravity or the purposes of Black Lives Matter in protest. He saw racial justice protests as nothing more than an uprising against HIM-and tried to force the military to deploy in states where marches were rampant.

This is, on the whole, a man deeply unworthy of the presidency. (That is not a discriminatory statement. It is a statement of fact based on the clear picture we have of how Trump behaved while in the most powerful office in the country.) Someone who, in his inability to understand the sanctity of office he held, threatening to destroy that sanctity for those who would follow him to the White House. And someone who is, without any question, an active danger for every single American – whether they support or oppose him.

That has to be the takeaway from these books. That is the forest by the trees. And That’s the truth voters need to hear if and when Trump will try to revoke the presidency in 2024.

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