Anonymous, A Warning.

- It took me a while to get hooked by this new book on Trump. There have been others - Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury and Siege, Bob Woodward's Fear and Michael Lewis' The Fifth Risk, being the key ones, all of which I've read. It seemed to be traversing old ground, offering nothing new.

- But it gradually became quite obvious that this insider job was very different. It was not written by a journalist but by a White House staffer, and, critically, by a committed Republican. It has a different flavour altogether.


- 'Anonymous' is quite obviously a foreign affairs/diplomacy advisor, most probably a West Point graduate, very pro-military, and totally shares the established American prejudice that their country is the world leader in everything and other countries should genuflect at all times. The ever present ‘enemies’ are still China, Russia and Iran. It's lazy, conventional thinking. (If there’s one good thing about Trump, he vaguely recognises that and has called out US warmongering for what it is). 

- What makes Anonymous's account fascinating is that he's a conservative Republican committed to traditional values, a purist and staunch believer. Although he sounds like a real prick at times, a high-minded private school prefect, he's not annoying. His critique of Trump is devastating, relentless and exceptionally well written. It can't be seen as a simple anti-Trump rant from a public servant who feels neglected because of the President's obvious preference for his 'politicals', his chosen advisors and Department Secretaries. He's standing for values, both personal and professional, and propriety.  

 - Because of his conservative bias there are real weaknesses in his critique. He has minimal understanding of economic issues (being from the ‘all debt is bad’ school), and a conventional 'America First' stance on foreign policy (cliches first, nuance second). Also, and disappointingly, he never mentions Trump's appalling stance on climate change (pulling out from the Paris Agreement), his abandoning the six-nation Iran nuclear arms control deal and re-imposing severe economic sanctions. Although he rightly condemns Trump's tariff war with China.

- He includes some great quotes from former presidents, philosophers and political observers. 

- He's firmly of the view that if the Democrats nominate a ‘socialist’ in 2020 (he doesn't name Sanders or Warren) Trump will benefit. It must be someone who ‘campaigns on unity’ (he doesn't even name Biden). That way many disaffected Republicans would vote for him or her and the nation would be saved from another horrendous four years of Trump. If Americans re-elect Trump in 2020 they will go down in history as the most anti-democratic nation on earth.

The verdict is in. Despite some accomplishments, it's evident Trump is behaving immorally, weakening the party he professes to lead, undermining democratic institutions, abandoning crucial US alliances, emboldening our adversaries, dividing Americans with hateful rhetoric and chronic dishonesty, and surrounding himself with people who will only reinforce his defects. It was easy to dismiss a pile of insider accounts about the severity of the situation. However, the pile is now a mountain, and the stories paint a portrait of a leader who handles the nation's affairs with persistent negligence. Donald Trump deserves to be fired.