Note that the story descriptions are contemporaneous to when they were first shared, so in some cases things will have changed. For instance, several of the people described in them have since been fired.
The Man
Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All | The New Yorker | July 2016
Tony Schwartz wrote Donald Trump’s bestselling book ‘The Art of the Deal’. He’s very worried. He thinks a Trump presidency has a good chance of leading to the “end of civilisation”.
bit.ly/newyorker-ghostwriter
Inside Trump’s Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation | The New York Times | December 2017
The result of 60 interviews with friends, advisers and politicians, this remarkable piece tracks the course of President Trump’s day – from a 0530 start with Fox News and his iPhone, through to bed at the end of a long day of battle.
bit.ly/nyt-trumpbattle
The Increasing Unfitness of Donald Trump | The New Yorker | January 2018
New Yorker Editor David Remnick’s piece on Donald Trump starts with a reference to the infamous Roman Emperor Nero and goes from there.
bit.ly/ny-unfitness
Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father | The New York Times | October 2018
The result of months of investigative work, this story examines Donald Trump’s finances and tax arrangements in detail. In doing so, it kills off one of the key Trump myths – that he was self-made, and it suggests that the family’s approach to tax was highly creative.
bit.ly/nyt-tax
The Family
The Heir | The Atlantic | October 2019
The story of the ongoing rivalry between Donald Trump’s children to be his political successor. Fans of HBO drama Succession will be in familiar territory.
President In-Law | New York Magazine | January 2017
A profile of Jared Kushner, a man who apparently until recently espoused “inoffensively Bloombergian political values”, now Senior Adviser to his father-in-law, President-Elect Trump.
Ivanka Aeternum | The Cut | August 2019
A biting profile of Ivanka Trump.
Donald Trump Jr. Is Ready. But for What, Exactly? | The New York Times | August 2020
A story looking at the member of the Trump clan that has perhaps most thrived during their father’s presidency — Donald Trump Jr. has built up political clout by practicing a vocal and social media friendly brand of MAGA-populism.
The Team
The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence | Rolling Stone | January 2017
A less than flattering profile of Vice President Pence, looking at his time as Governor of Indiana and his elevation to his present office. The article provides an insight into his political ideology, as well as bizarre anecdotes such as Pence calling his wife “Mother” at a dinner with state legislators.
Attack, Attack, Attack | New York Magazine | July 2017
After a period out in the cold, President Trump’s controversial adviser Steve Bannon is apparently back in the inner circle. The piece contains illuminating details, including the assertion that Bannon owns a portrait representing his own face on Napoleon’s body – a gift from Nigel Farage.
Rex Tillerson at the Breaking Point | The New Yorker | October 2017
A profile of Donald Trump’s Secretary of State in action. Two reported quotes early on provide an insight into the piece – “I don’t know. I’m not a diplomat”, said at a UN showdown with Iran, and “fucking moron” when describing his President at a gathering of national-security officials.
“F—ing Sith Lord,” “Horrific Leakers,” and “Berserkazoid Craziness”: The Mooch Recalls His Brief Shining Fortnight at the Center of American Politics | Vanity Fair | February 2018
This piece reads like so much political gossip, but it is a truly remarkable example of the genre – mainly due to short-lived White House staffer Anthony Scaramucci’s filter-free volubility and talent for name calling.
Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of Trump | The New Yorker | August 2019
A profile of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – a man who like many in his party has gone from “disdaining Trump to embracing him with barely a murmur of dissent.”
The Fog of Rudy | The New York Times | January 2020
The eventful career of Rudy Giuliani is examined in this compelling profile, culminating in his role as attorney to Donald Trump. As the author observes – “The real question is perhaps not ‘What happened to Rudy?’ It’s ‘What happened to us?’ Today, anything seems possible for those who are willing to say and do anything.”
William Barr’s State of Emergency | The New York Times | September 2020
A profile of the United States Attorney General William Barr, in his second stint in the role, after first serving in George H.W. Bush’s administration in the early 1990s. His successor from his first incumbency had this to say on his influence in the Trump administration: “Those who think he’s a tool of Donald Trump are missing the point..If anything, it’s the other way around. Barr is vastly more intelligent than Donald Trump…Bill has longstanding views about how society should be organized, which can now be manifested and acted upon to a degree that they never could have before.”
Domestic Affairs
Domestic Affairs
‘This guy doesn’t know anything’: the inside story of Trump’s shambolic transition team | The Guardian | September 2018
Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Flash Boys, The Big Short) on Trump’s transition is exactly what you’d expect – a tragicomedy. In amongst the tales of alarming incompetence, the piece features such glorious anecdotes as Trump declaring his enjoyment of The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” to Egypt’s President, the first head of state to congratulate him on his election victory.
Mitch McConnell Got Everything He Wanted. But at What Cost? | The New York Times | January 2019
A profile of the Senate Majority Leader, one of the most powerful figures in Republican politics. He has a Republican in the White House, and the judicial appointments he wanted, but is it worth the price he’s having to pay?
The Border Patrol Hits a Breaking Point | Politico | July 2019
A deeply troubling account of the agency at the heart of the Mike Pence migrant centre visit and the uproar surrounding it.
Can Trump Survive Mueller? | Politico | March 2019
A look at Donald Trump’s prospects of surviving the Mueller enquiry, and his long track record of living life right on the edge of the precipice.
Foreign Affairs
Inside the Chaotic Early Days of Trump’s Foreign Policy | Politico | March 2019
A sobering look at the formative days of the Trump administration. One Obama administration aide puts it in stark terms – “It was so shocking to see this team come in a blur of chaos, disregarding legality and ethics and showing a deep hostility to the career professionals.”