Speaking for Myself

Dutiful memoir by the sitting president's erstwhile mouthpiece. Two things emerge from the latest text from a recently departed true believer: Sanders is loyal, the quality that Donald Trump admires above any other, ability and intelligence included; and she inhabits an irony-free world. For instance, when her boss promised at his inauguration, "we are transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the American people," she took him at his word. Throughout this colorless, unnecessary memoir, Sanders professes her love for Trump and his entourage, adding encomia such as, "the president is surrounded by some of the most incredible and most talented people you could ever imagine." She nigh on swoons when Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh ("a legend and a hero in the conservative movement") is in the room, which thrills her almost as much as when Trump fired Rex Tillerson in favor of Mike Pompeo, who "brought a swagger to the job." The news here has already been thoroughly aired--e.g., that Trump, told that Kim Jong-un had winked at her, said that he was sending her to North Korea, where she would be "taking one for the team." Anything, one supposes, to get away from what the author calls the "liberal mob," exemplified by the mean woman who denied her service at a little restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. At the White House, she writes, "the food is outstanding, and the burger is my favorite in Washington." How to put up with unbelievers like that restaurateur and CNN's infernal Jim Acosta? Faith, above all: "One of the most important things about being a Christian is knowing that God loves us no matter what." And so does Trump, who, when she left the White House to "reconnect with my family," called her "a warrior"--and, to trust the reports, we all know how he esteems warriors. For compulsive collectors of Trumpiana only.

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