Category: US Presidency

The Making of Trump 2.0

On By Marc NadeauIn Donald Trump, George H. W. Bush, HarperCollins, History, Leadership, Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, Lt.-Gen. H.R. McMaster, Politics, Ronald Reagan, US Politics, US PresidencyLeave a comment

Historically, the main task of any President-elect in the United States is to form a cabinet. In the last weeks, we have seen a cascade of announcements that have raised some eyebrows. Donald Trump’s picks for key positions in his second administration might seem odd to many.

Not so much if you grab a copy of retired Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster’s insightful book At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House (Harper).

Upon his selection as National Security Advisor by the 45th President, the military general wanted to give his boss the best of his expertise. After consulting with one of his notorious predecessors, Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, who masterfully seconded President George H. W. Bush, McMaster understood his role as “making the policy process work and developing options for the president; and second, advising the president with views unalloyed by the departments and their bureaucracies.” The only person that mattered to him was the President, whose foreign policy should be well served. He also perceived his role as being above partisanship. His goodwill would be rewarded with disappointment.

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The Source of JFK’s Greatness

On By Marc NadeauIn Cold war, Dutton, History, John F. Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Leadership, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mark K. Updegrove, Nikita Khrushchev, Penguin Random House Canada, US Politics, US Presidency, World War IILeave a comment

For as long as I can remember, November 22 has always been a sobering date on my calendar. My late father, like many of his generation, revered John F. Kennedy. He owned several pieces of memorabilia. He also vividly remembered where he was and what he was doing on that fateful day when his favorite statesman tragically fell under the bullets. Before the Roosevelts, Truman, LBJ, Reagan and both Presidents Bush – commanders in chief for whom I have tons of admiration – JFK was the first one who piqued my intellectual curiosity.

I cannot proclaim that I have read every book regarding the main figure of contemporary Camelot, but I always make a point of skimming the pages of as many as I can. Mark K. Updegrove is a presidential historian whose work I have always been interested in. I was, therefore, impatient to grab a copy of his recent book Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency. I was expecting a good read because the author has an enthralling writing style. But I got much more than that.

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