Well, for anyone paying attention to the news of our world nothing in this book will come as a shock. However it is a terrifying reminder of how we got to where we are---the present state of affairs and possible consequences of the future. I think I got whiplash from shaking my head in disgust over and over and over again.

That said, important read. I highly recommend. Painful reminder, but a necessary one.

I really enjoyed this book, and I would encourage anyone concerned about defending our democracy to read it. I certainly think of Frum as a conservative voice, and his criticisms of Trump and Republican politicians are so good to hear! It's not just rabid liberals that worry we are descending into authoritarianism and abandoning democratic ideals and norms. And the dangers I see are also seen by Frum. Thank you, David, for writing such a thoughtful, timely book!

Must read for anyone who loves the rule of law and America.

“They came to loot.”

David Frum was always reasonable, honest, and incisive. Because he was on the political right and a speechwriter for Bush 43, I never paid his work close attention. It just took a nation-testing event like the Trump presidency to get me tuned in. My bad.

This book isn’t exactly about Trump the man, it is about Trump’s power. Frum has said that the cover is a metaphor for the book’s contents – there is a silhouette of Trump, his back to the reader, his face invisible. We are learning about the chiaroscuro around this Presidency: who enables it and how it came to be, how its power is used. The book is short, cutting, and dripping with material for further reading. Didn’t know that WikiLeaks dumped all the (overblown) Podesta emails 32 minutes after the Access “grab them by the pu**y” Hollywood tape? Now you do. Even more eye-opening is to see the events in context, with timelines.

Frum writes:

“Trumpocracy as a system of power rests not on deregulation but on nonregulation, not on deconstructing the state but on breaking the state in order to plunder the state.”

We have been in a tense nuclear dick-swinging contest with North Korea in recent months. We have no ambassador to South Korea. These facts speak for themselves, but you need a guide to lead you to the facts. Frum presents himself as a worried, thoughtful intellectual with no axes to grind. His rejoinder to us all: be a better citizen.

"Trump is loserdom embraced. Trump is the loser who has won."
-Dale Beran essay quoted in Trumpocracy

I am left with a lump in my throat and pain in my chest, but still hopeful. Frum has put me in this unbalanced state.

Frum gives me mixed feelings. Sometimes, he is profoundly on point. Sometimes, he is old man yelling at cloud, wrapped up in the politics of Washington and forgetting how 'regular' people think.

Of course the book's purpose was to pile onto trump and he problems. But that gets tiresome. Luckily for Frum and this book, the final chapter 'Hope' is excellent, and provides much needed positivity and optimism. In this chapter we fully understand the weaknesses of Trump and the ideas he promotes.it is here that this book is vitally important as America rebuilds after four weeks of near-tyranny.

I've run into David Frum, the author of TRUMPOCRACY, a few times during my years in Washington, DC. This isn't unusual; one often runs into politicians, politicos, journalists, and other capital city "celebrities." My first encounter with Frum was the most memorable. I was walking my black lab, Dash, in Battery Kemble Park when all of a sudden David's two large yellow labs appeared out of the woods and bum rushed us. There was lots of growling and snarling and teeth baring, but luckily, I was able to keep Dash moving along the path and extricate us from a bad situation.

Like his dogs, Frum doesn't smile much, does a fair amount of growling, and doesn't back away from a fight. After reading his work in the Atlantic Monthly and listening to his interviews, I've grown to admire these qualities, especially his intellect, directness, and fearlessness. He's an example of a Republican (at least, I assume that he's a Republican, having served as a speechwriter for George W. Bush) who puts country above party. Perhaps this is one reason why he wrote this book, a stark warning about the dangers Donald Trump and his administration pose to American democracy, a danger that he says "dies by degrees."

This book is a compilation of essays from Frum's work in the Atlantic and explores the major themes of the Trumpocracy, with chapters dedicated to "Enablers," "Appeasers," "Enemies of the People," and the "Rigged System," to name a few. The book doesn't uncover new information, but it does a nice job of explaining the many ways Trumpism poses a threat to democracy. I especially appreciated the warning Frum has for the Republican Party: "Maybe you do not much care about the future of the Republican Party. You should," he warns. "Conservatives will always be with us. If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy."

Most of all, I take to heart Frum's parting words: "Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a modern bureacratuc state: not by diktat and violence, but by the slow, demoralizing process of corruption and deceit. And the way that liberty must be defended is not with amateur firearms, but with an unwearying insistence on the honesty, integrity, and professionalism of American institutions and those who lead them. We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered. What happens next is up to you. Don't be afraid. This moment of danger can also be your finest hour as a citizen and an American."

While I don't look forward to seeing David's dogs again, I do look forward to running into David, himself. I'll be sure to let him know how much I appreciated and enjoyed this book.

This was a very well-written (and highly readable) summary of the threats to our institutions. I prefer reading analysis of the Trump era from individuals with whom I disagree with on policy grounds because I never want to be impacted by partisan fighting.

I will vote for the candidate who rejects my preferences and offends my opinions. (In fact, I already have voted for her.) Previous generations accepted infinitely heavier sacrifices and more dangerous duties to defend democracy. I’ll miss the tax cut I’d get from united Republican government. But there will be other elections, other chances to vote for what I regard as more sensible policies. My party will recover to counter her agenda in Congress, moderate her nominations to the courts, and defeat her bid for re-election in 2020. I look forward to supporting Republican recovery and renewal.
This November, however, I am voting not to advance my wish-list on taxes, entitlements, regulation, and judicial appointments. I am voting to defend Americans’ profoundest shared commitment: a commitment to norms and rules that today protect my rights under a president I don’t favor, and that will tomorrow do the same service for you.

I really liked this book and I thought it was interesting to listen to Trump from the point of view of a Republican. David Frum made excellent points and his writing style and language made me fly through the book.

I really don't have much to say, if you find the topic interesting or want to know what really is going on (with multiple sources verifying what Frum is saying [so later you cannot say is made up bs]), I would highly recommend you to read this.