Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault Newman

I wasn’t terribly familiar with Omarosa. I was aware she had been on The Apprentice, but I had never seen the show, so this was my introduction.

She came off pretty well in the account, as is the case in most self-written books, but she did have an insider’s view after knowing him for 15 years.

What came through most was her alarm at his dramatic mental deterioration since The Apprentice. She thought that he was sharp minded then, but when she was part of the WhiteHouse staff, he seemed incapable of grasping simple concepts.

Even when carefully briefed, he went off script, not just because he needed to make every event about him, but because he simply couldn’t retain information.

Other points:

Kellyanne Conway (Who Omarosa dubbed “Swamp Creature.”) switched to the Trump team seamlessly after opposing him vociferously, like a vacuum cleaner salesperson who had begun shilling for another brand.

Reince Prebis laid down the law early in “Trumpworld” that no matter what the president said, the White House would back him up. This is what lead to Sean Spicer’s assertion that theirs was the largest inaugural crowd ever, when it was a mere fraction of the size of his predecessors.

Trump wanted to be sworn in on The Art of the Deal, a highly fictionalized ghostwritten book about his business tactics in the 70s.

Don Jr constantly seeks his father’s approval, usually in vein.

Melania finds her husband as distasteful as most Americans do.

He reads at maybe an eighth grade level and has no attention span.

General Kelly’s arrival at the White House seemed to further destabilize him. He isolated him from those he trusted most, either unthinkingly or by design.

Not sure if a tape of him saying the “n” word will make any difference. He has a decades long history of racism which hasn’t hurt him. Also the tape in which he bragged about sexual assault didn’t keep him from winning the election.

Lots more tidbits in the book.

Not particularly well written, organized or edited, but worth a look. A bit self-serving, confirms what most of us suspect, but it’s a quick read.