The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unravelling of the American Story

MSNBC'S Joy-Ann Reid calculates the true price of the Trump presidency, "a searing indictment" (Kirkus) argued with depth, wit, and piercing insight

“Joy Reid masterfully combines the immediacy of news reporting, the intimacy of memoir, and the sweep of a history book.” —Lawrence O'Donnell

"Passionate, smart, and breathtakingly original, this book will explain Trump to readers for years to come.”  —Michael Tomasky

Is Donald Trump running the “longest con” in U.S. history? How did we get here? What will be left of America when he leaves office? 

Candidate Trump sold Americans a vision that was seemingly at odds with their country’s founding principles. Now in office, he’s put up a “for sale” sign—on the prestige of the presidency, on America’s global stature, and on our national identity. At what cost have these deals come? Joy-Ann Reid's essential new book, The Man Who Sold America, delivers an urgent accounting of our national crisis from one of our foremost political commentators.

Three years ago, Donald Trump pitched millions of voters on the idea that their country was broken, and that the rest of the world was playing us “for suckers.” All we needed to fix this was Donald Trump, who rebranded prejudice as patriotism, presented diversity as our weakness, and promised that money really could make the world go ’round.

Trump made the sale to enough Americans in three key swing states to win the Electoral College. As president, Trump’s raft of self-dealing, scandal, and corruption has overwhelmed the national conversation. And with prosecutors bearing down on Trump and his family business, the web of criminality is circling closer to the Oval Office. All this while Trump seemingly makes his administration a pawn for the ultimate villain: an autocratic former KGB officer in Russia who found in the untutored and eager forty-fifth president the perfect “apprentice.”

What is the hidden impact of Trump, beyond the headlines? Through interviews with American and international thought leaders and in-depth analysis, Reid situates the Trump era within the context of modern history, examining the profound social changes that led us to this point. 

Providing new context and depth to our understanding, The Man Who Sold America reveals the causes and consequences of the Trump presidency and contends with the future that awaits us.