Carol Leonnig Books

The first months of the Trump administration unfolded like a constant storm. The transition, which should have been a period of careful planning, was instead marked by confusion and rivalry. There was no unified structure guiding newcomers into the responsibilities of governing. Longstanding civil s...

From A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America

One of the defining stories we uncovered occurred in July 2017 within the Pentagon’s secure conference room, known as “the Tank.” Senior military leaders gathered to instruct President Trump on America’s global alliances, hoping to ground his approach in strategy rather than impulse. They displayed ...

From A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America

Early 2020 began almost quietly inside the West Wing. Reports from abroad spoke of a new respiratory virus spreading across Wuhan, China, but Trump’s inner circle, largely focused on re-election strategy, saw it as distant noise. Leonnig and Rucker reconstruct those pivotal weeks with clarity and te...

From I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year

When the pandemic became impossible to dismiss, Trump convened the coronavirus task force, ostensibly to demonstrate command. In reality, Leonnig and Rucker reveal, it became a stage for daily conflict. Fauci personified empirical restraint; Birx, professional composure wrapped around exhaustion; an...

From I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year

The Secret Service was born in the shadow of national crisis. In 1865, as the Civil War ended, America’s economy lay in disarray, its currency fragile, and counterfeiters thriving. President Abraham Lincoln’s last official act was to sign the Service into existence—not to guard his own life but to s...

From Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service

John F. Kennedy’s presidency tested the Service in an era of both optimism and danger. Agents adored his vitality but were troubled by his disregard for risk. He insisted on open cars, public exposure, closeness to the people—a political strength that became deadly vulnerability. On November 22, 196...

From Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service