Americas
![Miles Taylor - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B0C72QFYMJ.jpg)
Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump
The author behind the "eye-popping" (CNN) #1 New York Times bestseller A Warning presents an urgent look at how our deeply divided nation is setting the stage for "The Next Trump."
Donald Trump will be president again, whether he is on the ballot or not. That is because Trumpism is overtaking the Republican Party and will mount a vigorous comeback, potentially in the hands of a savvier successor-The Next Trump.
This prophecy will come true, according to Miles Taylor, if we do not learn the lessons of the recent past.
With the 2024 election approaching, the formerly "Anonymous" official is back with bombshell revelations and a sobering national forecast. Through interviews with dozens of ex-Trump aides and government leaders, Taylor predicts what could happen inside "Trump 2.0," the White House of a more competent and more formidable copycat.
What sounds like a political thriller-from shadowy presidential powers and CIA betrayals to angry henchmen and assassination plots-is instead America's political reality, as Taylor uses untold stories to shed light on the ex-President's unfulfilled plans, the dark forces haunting our civic lives, and how we can thwart the rise of extremism in the United States.
Blowback is also a surprisingly emotional and self-critical portrait of a dissenter, whose own unmasking provides a vivid warning about what happens when we hide the truth from others and, most importantly, ourselves.
Donald Trump will be president again, whether he is on the ballot or not. That is because Trumpism is overtaking the Republican Party and will mount a vigorous comeback, potentially in the hands of a savvier successor-The Next Trump.
This prophecy will come true, according to Miles Taylor, if we do not learn the lessons of the recent past.
With the 2024 election approaching, the formerly "Anonymous" official is back with bombshell revelations and a sobering national forecast. Through interviews with dozens of ex-Trump aides and government leaders, Taylor predicts what could happen inside "Trump 2.0," the White House of a more competent and more formidable copycat.
What sounds like a political thriller-from shadowy presidential powers and CIA betrayals to angry henchmen and assassination plots-is instead America's political reality, as Taylor uses untold stories to shed light on the ex-President's unfulfilled plans, the dark forces haunting our civic lives, and how we can thwart the rise of extremism in the United States.
Blowback is also a surprisingly emotional and self-critical portrait of a dissenter, whose own unmasking provides a vivid warning about what happens when we hide the truth from others and, most importantly, ourselves.
Editorial Reviews
"Blowback reads like a thriller and hits you like a tornado siren. Miles Taylor has provided the most vivid and authoritative account yet of what a ‘Trump 2.0' would look like. This is a warning that must be heeded."-Lt. Col. Alex Vindman (ret), Former director, White House National Security Council and author of Here, Right Matters
"Another rousing plea to all Americans to stand against authoritarianism."-Kirkus Reviews
"Miles Taylor's Blowback is a must-read as America faces the threat of a second Trump term…The people behind Trump's new run are more authoritarian, more determined, and more dangerous than ever. Blowback lays out their plan and the risks it poses to the Republic. Terrifying, readable, and deeply important at this moment."-Rick Wilson, author of Everything Trump Touches Dies, co-founder of the Lincoln Project
"Miles writes in his latest compelling book, ‘Truth is the final guardrail of our collective democracy.' He takes us on his complicated, courageous journey to this truth through his poignant personal and professional path…Patriots are found in every corner of our country, and Miles is definitely one of them."-Matthew Dowd, MSNBC political analyst
"Strap in for this one, folks!...Miles Taylor's Blowback overwhelms the reader as it warns of complacency in the face political tribalism. Miles reaches into the darker corners of a once proud Republican Party to expose its extremism and embrace of MAGA; and shines the refreshing light of truth on a pathway with no guardrails."-Michael Steele, Former Republican National Committee chairman
"Blowback is a compelling insider account, a prophecy, a warning, and a vivid illustration of just what is on the line for America in the next several years. Read it if you want to understand just how close to the edge we are as a country – and how we can pull back. Miles Taylor is a powerful, clear-eyed voice about the depth of the challenges we face as a nation."-Andrew Yang, Former Democratic presidential candidate
"Blowback is quite simply the best and most frightening book written by an inside...
"Another rousing plea to all Americans to stand against authoritarianism."-Kirkus Reviews
"Miles Taylor's Blowback is a must-read as America faces the threat of a second Trump term…The people behind Trump's new run are more authoritarian, more determined, and more dangerous than ever. Blowback lays out their plan and the risks it poses to the Republic. Terrifying, readable, and deeply important at this moment."-Rick Wilson, author of Everything Trump Touches Dies, co-founder of the Lincoln Project
"Miles writes in his latest compelling book, ‘Truth is the final guardrail of our collective democracy.' He takes us on his complicated, courageous journey to this truth through his poignant personal and professional path…Patriots are found in every corner of our country, and Miles is definitely one of them."-Matthew Dowd, MSNBC political analyst
"Strap in for this one, folks!...Miles Taylor's Blowback overwhelms the reader as it warns of complacency in the face political tribalism. Miles reaches into the darker corners of a once proud Republican Party to expose its extremism and embrace of MAGA; and shines the refreshing light of truth on a pathway with no guardrails."-Michael Steele, Former Republican National Committee chairman
"Blowback is a compelling insider account, a prophecy, a warning, and a vivid illustration of just what is on the line for America in the next several years. Read it if you want to understand just how close to the edge we are as a country – and how we can pull back. Miles Taylor is a powerful, clear-eyed voice about the depth of the challenges we face as a nation."-Andrew Yang, Former Democratic presidential candidate
"Blowback is quite simply the best and most frightening book written by an inside...
Readers Top Reviews
Kit V.AaronMorphe
The entire truth of what happened in Trump's first term and the 2020 election becomes more known with each passing day. However, it was the publication of the Anonymous statement that opened up the spigot. While I have followed Miles Taylor, Olivia Troye, and the other public servants who are doing their best to sound the alarms, I wasn't fully aware of the personal and professional risks all of them had to consider and endure. Miles' story reads like fiction and I had to continually remind myself that this indeed happened. The author has a comfortable command of language and organization making the personal story interwoven with the political story very readable. I especially appreciated the warning sections of Trump 2.0. All Americans should take heed.
Read this before it's released as a film, which it seems very likely to become. It has all the hallmarks of being a great screenplay - fast-paced drama, humor, pathos. Plenty of good guys and tragically fallen heroes. It feels like a James Bond kind of book. It is immensely readable, but it will take a certain amount of courage to keep reading it, because it's terrifying. I'm rarely satisfied by movies based on books, but in this case, I REALLY REALLY want this book to be made into a movie and released before the 2024 election. In the meantime, it's a fast read but you'll need a strong stomach, even though many of the anecdotes made it to the headlines at the time they occurred. Most likely you will have white knuckles somewhere along the way. I'm guessing posterity will rate Miles as the Deep Throat of the Trump administration.
Kimberly Charbonn
I had not yet read the book that preceded Blowback - "A Warning" -but all of the hype got me clicking "Deliver ASAP" (Sorry, Amazon). Of course, us Americans had inklings of corruption and wrongdoing and of the lawlessness in the Trump White House during 2016-2020. However, the LEVEL of and every-day disregard for Americas loyal institutions by trump and his lackeys is UNFORGIVABLE. Trump put America in danger SO many times and I really feel if it were not for a few heros such as General Mattis and John Kelly, we would be dead by nukes or other warfare, all stemming from temper tantrums from a big dumb baby. This book is OUT OF THIS WORLD and must NOT be missed. It's mind-blowing!! 💕 Miles Taylor deserves a Medal of Whatever and Good Things and should be regarded as one of America's true heros for doing the right thing and speaking out. THANK YOU, MILES!!
J. L. Annis Jr.Ki
Not only does Blowback describe lay out why Mr. Trump should never have come to power, but it recounts the plight of those who did stand up to his foolishness. Mr. Taylor lets us know that he was not always proud of his reluctance to put a name to his accounts of Mr. Trump's lack of familiarity with basic constitutional principles, but we get a great portrait of some who did and Mr. Taylor's ultimate decision to make his identity public. More importantly, we get an idea of the kinds of authoritarian steps Mr. Trump might take if we elect him again and sense that those steps they may be even more dangerous than those Mr. Trump employed between the election and December 6
ClassyLady7Classy
This book is a real page-turner. I picked it up on my way out, opened it and leafed through, and literally could not put it down, scrapped my plans to read. This book tells the whole story, from suspicions of being followed at the very beginning to meeting his new bodyguard on election day 2020, we see how an individual of integrity, Miles Taylor, held the line during a disastrous and almost catastrophic administration. His wisdom is compelling, likening dissent to a product affected by supply and demand. The cost of his dissent was almost everything. The more we dissent, the less costly it will become. The details of Miles Taylor's personal and professional struggle with living his oath of office is well worth the price of this book. We need all people of integrity to speak out. We will not survive another Trump. Mr. Taylor's story is fascinating.
Short Excerpt Teaser
PROLOGUE
October 30, 2020
The sky was cloudy and sullen, as if strewn with ash plumes. I exited the hotel, baseball cap and sunglasses in place, and crossed the street. Aware of everyone, talking to no one. A woman walked her dog. A man in a camouflage hat smoked a cigarette at the corner, while skateboarders weaved in and out of the bike lane. The smell of firewood smoke signaled the arrival of my favorite season, though on this morning, it barely registered. Around the block, I slipped into a bakery
for coffee and a biscuit, keeping my sunglasses on while waiting at the counter. The food lived up to the description, slow-cooked.
Outside again, I walked back to the hotel. A pair of eyes stopped me. The same camo-hat guy from earlier was leaning on a truck, holding my gaze down the street. Something wasn't right. I changed directions as if I'd forgotten something, rerouting toward my parked car on the other side of the road. Settling into the driver's seat, I holstered the coffee in the cupholder and watched the man in the rearview mirror. He dropped his cigarette and flattened it with a twist of his boot.
I pulled out of the parking space, planning to do a lap around the block to shake the suspicion. Headlights lit up behind me, and the truck pulled out, too.
It's a coincidence. Calm down.
As I wound through the still-sleepy North Carolina town-knowing it no better than the distance covered by my high beams in the dim morning-the man seemed to stay with me. Right turn. Left turn. I was being followed, stalked maybe.
I sped a little faster along Asheville's streets and recalled advice from an ex-CIA mentor. Time. Distance. Direction. It was a technique called a "surveillance detection route." You tested whether someone was following you by measuring how long, how far, and how directly they remained on your tail. I tried to cool my nerves by running an ad hoc route, even though I had no idea where I was. I vectored away from downtown and took unusual turns, continually checking my rearview mirror.
On the outskirts of Asheville, the truck was still behind me. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears, racing so fast I worried that when it slowed I'd pass out at the wheel. I veered toward the shoulder and braked abruptly. My car shuddered to a halt over the gravel and kicked up a dishwater dust cloud. The truck drove onward and took the highway on-ramp, seemingly oblivious to my abrupt stop. I drove to a nearby parking garage and sat inside waiting, just to be sure. The street was quiet. The truck, nowhere to be seen.
You're losing it, man.
The paranoia was metastasizing. Before daybreak, I had received a note from a U.S. Secret Service agent: "You should get a security team, fast. I can connect you." And another from a Silicon Valley billionaire: "I'll pay your protection costs." While these were generous offers, I was five hundred miles from home, so for now, I was on my own.
It had started the prior afternoon. The president of the United States launched an "all-out assault" against me (as one news outlet put it) while in Tampa, Florida, at a campaign rally. Or was it a mob riot?
"Bad things are going to happen to him!" Trump warned ominously about the "horrible," "treasonous" Miles Taylor.
Are you listening to me back in Washington? He should be prosecuted!" he roared, face contorted with rage, apparently directing his words at the Justice Department. The audience lapped it up.
"Traitor!" they shouted back gleefully. His followers began to search for me, online and in real life.
Why? Because I had just deliberately blown my own cover, revealing myself to be a longtime Trump detractor and-most infuriatingly to the president-one of his former aides. Internal dissent was one of Trump's worst fears. By his own admission, he had spent two years eyeing everyone who entered the Oval Office warily, wondering who in his midst was the elusive inside critic known only as "Anonymous."
It was me.
Years earlier, I had written an unsigned essay from within the Trump administration, blowing the whistle on White House misconduct. As the unknown author, I detailed the president's character defects, an administration in chaos, and the alarming views of Trump's own cabinet members-some of whom contemplated invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to remove the commander in chief amid the instability. I knew these anonymous revelati...
October 30, 2020
The sky was cloudy and sullen, as if strewn with ash plumes. I exited the hotel, baseball cap and sunglasses in place, and crossed the street. Aware of everyone, talking to no one. A woman walked her dog. A man in a camouflage hat smoked a cigarette at the corner, while skateboarders weaved in and out of the bike lane. The smell of firewood smoke signaled the arrival of my favorite season, though on this morning, it barely registered. Around the block, I slipped into a bakery
for coffee and a biscuit, keeping my sunglasses on while waiting at the counter. The food lived up to the description, slow-cooked.
Outside again, I walked back to the hotel. A pair of eyes stopped me. The same camo-hat guy from earlier was leaning on a truck, holding my gaze down the street. Something wasn't right. I changed directions as if I'd forgotten something, rerouting toward my parked car on the other side of the road. Settling into the driver's seat, I holstered the coffee in the cupholder and watched the man in the rearview mirror. He dropped his cigarette and flattened it with a twist of his boot.
I pulled out of the parking space, planning to do a lap around the block to shake the suspicion. Headlights lit up behind me, and the truck pulled out, too.
It's a coincidence. Calm down.
As I wound through the still-sleepy North Carolina town-knowing it no better than the distance covered by my high beams in the dim morning-the man seemed to stay with me. Right turn. Left turn. I was being followed, stalked maybe.
I sped a little faster along Asheville's streets and recalled advice from an ex-CIA mentor. Time. Distance. Direction. It was a technique called a "surveillance detection route." You tested whether someone was following you by measuring how long, how far, and how directly they remained on your tail. I tried to cool my nerves by running an ad hoc route, even though I had no idea where I was. I vectored away from downtown and took unusual turns, continually checking my rearview mirror.
On the outskirts of Asheville, the truck was still behind me. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears, racing so fast I worried that when it slowed I'd pass out at the wheel. I veered toward the shoulder and braked abruptly. My car shuddered to a halt over the gravel and kicked up a dishwater dust cloud. The truck drove onward and took the highway on-ramp, seemingly oblivious to my abrupt stop. I drove to a nearby parking garage and sat inside waiting, just to be sure. The street was quiet. The truck, nowhere to be seen.
You're losing it, man.
The paranoia was metastasizing. Before daybreak, I had received a note from a U.S. Secret Service agent: "You should get a security team, fast. I can connect you." And another from a Silicon Valley billionaire: "I'll pay your protection costs." While these were generous offers, I was five hundred miles from home, so for now, I was on my own.
It had started the prior afternoon. The president of the United States launched an "all-out assault" against me (as one news outlet put it) while in Tampa, Florida, at a campaign rally. Or was it a mob riot?
"Bad things are going to happen to him!" Trump warned ominously about the "horrible," "treasonous" Miles Taylor.
Are you listening to me back in Washington? He should be prosecuted!" he roared, face contorted with rage, apparently directing his words at the Justice Department. The audience lapped it up.
"Traitor!" they shouted back gleefully. His followers began to search for me, online and in real life.
Why? Because I had just deliberately blown my own cover, revealing myself to be a longtime Trump detractor and-most infuriatingly to the president-one of his former aides. Internal dissent was one of Trump's worst fears. By his own admission, he had spent two years eyeing everyone who entered the Oval Office warily, wondering who in his midst was the elusive inside critic known only as "Anonymous."
It was me.
Years earlier, I had written an unsigned essay from within the Trump administration, blowing the whistle on White House misconduct. As the unknown author, I detailed the president's character defects, an administration in chaos, and the alarming views of Trump's own cabinet members-some of whom contemplated invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to remove the commander in chief amid the instability. I knew these anonymous revelati...
