Rage is a story of Donald Trump, president of the United States, concerning his handling of COVID-19. During one of their encounters, Bob Woodward, the author of the book, recalls Trump saying, “I bring rage out.” Mr. Trump was boasting on how he is adored and loathed in equal measure. Therefore, the title of the book is coined from that statement. Initially, Trump downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak despite a warning from his national security adviser, Robert O’Brien. As well, O’Brien’s deputy, Matt Pottinger, challenged Trump when he told him that the pandemic could be worse than the 1918 Spanish flu.
Nonetheless, these warnings did not deter the Trump administration from telling the public that the virus was low-risk. Woodward held an interview with Trump himself on March 19. In this interview, President Trump confessed to Woodward that he wanted to play the pandemic down not to draw attention to it. Woodward writes about many interviews he did with members of the Trump administration. Some members claimed that Trump has no empathy and rarely differentiates between a truth and a lie. The book describes President Trump as a person who takes no responsibility.
President Trump’s rage has resulted in smart people around him, remaining silent. Members of his cabinet who feel tired with him decide to resign. The book also features the exchange of letters between President Trump and North Korea despot Kim Jong-Un. Donald Trump has been gaslighting American citizens over pandemic. Certainly, he tries to put the blame on other people instead of acknowledging his failures in handling the virus.
