Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show
by Jonathan Karl
View on GoodreadsThe second Karl book, covering the final year of the Trump presidency — the COVID collapse, the 2020 campaign, the post-election effort to overturn the results, and January 6 — with extensive direct interviewing of Trump after his loss.
Core ideas
- The post-election interview with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in which he reaffirms his stolen-election claims unprompted and at length, is the book's primary-source spine.
- The "betrayal" is double-pointed: Trump's of his oath, and key Republicans' of him — the book documents the specific people who refused various asks (state officials, Pence, DOJ leadership) and the specific people who complied (Eastman, Clark, Meadows).
- Karl positions Jan 6 as the foreseeable endpoint, not the surprising one — earlier behavior across 2020 had set the precise trajectory.
Published2021
Pages384
ISBN9780593186329
ReadNov 2023
