Rage by Bob Woodward

In Rage, Bob Woodward, described as the No 1 international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, examines key moments from the Trump presidency, including the point at which the president was warned that Covid-19 could become the biggest national security threat to his presidency. The book recounts a January 2020 Oval Office briefing in which the potential scale of the pandemic is compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed 675,000 Americans.

Based on 17 on-the-record interviews conducted over seven months, the narrative presents what is described as a vivid window into the president’s thinking, combining denial and combative exchanges with moments of doubt. It also revisits the earliest days of the administration, describing how senior officials including James Mattis, Rex Tillerson and Dan Coats sought to keep the country safe amid changes to national security decision making.

Key details

• Author: Bob Woodward
• Includes 17 on-the-record interviews with the president conducted over seven months
• References a January 2020 warning about Covid-19 and comparisons to the 1918 Spanish Flu
• Draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with first-hand witnesses
• Uses source material including notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents

Synopsis

Rage details how the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic could become the most significant national security threat of his presidency, and places readers inside the Oval Office during a January 2020 briefing about the potential scale of the pandemic. Across 17 on-the-record interviews, the president offers a self-portrait that blends denial, confrontation and moments of doubt, including references to the perils of the role and what he calls the “dynamite behind every door”.

The book also explores how responses to the crises of 2020 are presented as rooted in instincts and habits formed during the first three years in office. Revisiting the administration’s early period, it describes senior national security figures struggling to keep the country safe as established decision-making processes were dismantled, supported by extensive interviews and documentary sources.