Book Review - Thank You for Your Servitude

Title - Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission
Author: Mark Leibovich
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: I was attracted to this book mostly because I wanted to understand how someone as despicable as Trump has been able to rise to the level of President of the United States. What I found is the Republican party is seriously lacking in the ability to stand up to bullies like Trump who has been described by Psychologists including Dr. Drew Westen as a malignant, narcissistic psycopath. Needless to say, it's freakin frightening to have someone like Trump in any position of power, nevermind President of the United States.

Description (Audible): In the early months of Trump’s candidacy, the Republican Party’s most important figures, people such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham, were united—and loud—in their scorn and contempt. Even more, in their outrage: Trump was a menace and an affront to our democracy. Then, awkwardly, Trump won.

Thank You for Your Servitude is Mark Leibovich’s unflinching account of the moral rout of a major American political party, tracking the transformation of Rubio, Cruz, Graham, and their ilk into the administration’s chief enablers, and the swamp’s lesser lights into frantic chasers of the grift. What would these politicos do to preserve their place in the sun, or at least the orbit of the spray tan? What would they do to preserve their “relevance”? Almost anything, it turns out. Trump’s savage bullying of everyone in his circle, along with his singular command of his political base, created a dangerous culture of submission in the Republican Party. Meanwhile, many of the most alpha of the lapdogs happily conceded to Mark Leibovich that they were “in on the joke”. As Lindsey Graham told the author, his supporters in South Carolina generally don’t read The New York Times, and they won’t read this book, either. All that cynicism, shading into nihilism, led to a country truly unhinged from reality and to the events of January 6, 2021. It’s a vista that makes the Washington of This Town seem like a comedy of manners in comparison.

Description (ChatGPT): Thank You for Your Servitude by Mark Leibovich is a biting, no-holds-barred dissection of the sycophantic circus that is Trump’s Washington, where loyalty is the ultimate currency—and common sense is in short supply. Leibovich’s sharp wit and acerbic eye make this book feel like a backstage pass to the most bizarre political show on Earth, where the price of submission is often your dignity, if not your soul. With a mix of dark humor and profound disillusionment, Leibovich chronicles the absurd lengths to which the political elite bent, crawled, and grovelled before the former president, revealing just how far some were willing to go for a taste of power. It’s part political analysis, part black comedy, and all jaw-droppingly entertaining. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to sell your soul in D.C.—this book is your guide. Spoiler alert: it’s not cheap.