Politics & Government
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Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission
"He's one of the best chroniclers of politics today." –Jake Tapper
"This is a really funny book." –Kara Swisher
"His writing is so damn good." –John Berman
"Really fascinating...There are so many revelations." –Anderson Cooper
"The new must read summer book." –Stephanie Ruhle
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller This Town, the eyewitness account of how the GOP collaborated with Donald Trump to transform Washington's "swamp" into a gold-plated hot tub-and a onetime party of rugged individualists into a sycophantic personality cult.
In the early months of Trump's candidacy, the Republican Party's most important figures, people such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham, were united-and loud-in their scorn and contempt. Even more, in their outrage: Trump was a menace and an affront to our democracy. Then, awkwardly, Trump won.
Thank You for Your Servitude is Mark Leibovich's unflinching account of the moral rout of a major American political party, tracking the transformation of Rubio, Cruz, Graham, and their ilk into the administration's chief enablers, and the swamp's lesser lights into frantic chasers of the grift. What would these politicos do to preserve their place in the sun, or at least the orbit of the spray tan? What would they do to preserve their "relevance"? Almost anything, it turns out. Trump's savage bullying of everyone in his circle, along with his singular command of his political base, created a dangerous culture of submission in the Republican Party. Meanwhile, many of the most alpha of the lapdogs happily conceded to Mark Leibovich that they were "in on the joke." As Lindsey Graham told the author, his supporters in South Carolina generally don't read The New York Times, and they won't read this book, either. All that cynicism, shading into nihilism, led to a country truly unhinged from reality, and to the events of January 6, 2021. It's a vista that makes the Washington of This Town seem like a comedy of manners in comparison.
Thank You for Your Servitude isn't another view from the Oval Office: it's the view from the Trump Hotel. We can check out any time we want, but only time will tell if we can ever leave.
"This is a really funny book." –Kara Swisher
"His writing is so damn good." –John Berman
"Really fascinating...There are so many revelations." –Anderson Cooper
"The new must read summer book." –Stephanie Ruhle
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller This Town, the eyewitness account of how the GOP collaborated with Donald Trump to transform Washington's "swamp" into a gold-plated hot tub-and a onetime party of rugged individualists into a sycophantic personality cult.
In the early months of Trump's candidacy, the Republican Party's most important figures, people such as Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham, were united-and loud-in their scorn and contempt. Even more, in their outrage: Trump was a menace and an affront to our democracy. Then, awkwardly, Trump won.
Thank You for Your Servitude is Mark Leibovich's unflinching account of the moral rout of a major American political party, tracking the transformation of Rubio, Cruz, Graham, and their ilk into the administration's chief enablers, and the swamp's lesser lights into frantic chasers of the grift. What would these politicos do to preserve their place in the sun, or at least the orbit of the spray tan? What would they do to preserve their "relevance"? Almost anything, it turns out. Trump's savage bullying of everyone in his circle, along with his singular command of his political base, created a dangerous culture of submission in the Republican Party. Meanwhile, many of the most alpha of the lapdogs happily conceded to Mark Leibovich that they were "in on the joke." As Lindsey Graham told the author, his supporters in South Carolina generally don't read The New York Times, and they won't read this book, either. All that cynicism, shading into nihilism, led to a country truly unhinged from reality, and to the events of January 6, 2021. It's a vista that makes the Washington of This Town seem like a comedy of manners in comparison.
Thank You for Your Servitude isn't another view from the Oval Office: it's the view from the Trump Hotel. We can check out any time we want, but only time will tell if we can ever leave.
Editorial Reviews
"The author couldn't repeat the formula he used to such entertaining effect in his 2013 book, This Town . . . Instead, Leibovich's new book ingeniously shifts the focus . . . extremely funny in spots, although much of the humor has a whistling-past-the-graveyard quality. Like the Comedian in Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, Leibovich was shocked out of his previous cynicism and absurdism (to some extent at least) by the enormity of Trump's threat." -New York Times Book Review
"[Leibovich is] just so good at this. He is a world-class ranter, continuing an American tradition that includes such dyspeptic luminaries as H.L. Mencken, Hunter S. Thompson and P.J. O'Rourke . . . [He is] a brilliant interviewer able to wheedle not-quite-admissions from his subjects, who give him all the access in the world." -Washington Post
"The main attraction to Leibovich's work is his wicked satirical talent. He comes at his interviewees with a skewer in one hand, a scalpel in the other and a glint in his eye. His frequent eviscerations of major figures range from subtle to scabrous . . . [T]he material in Thank You is new, much of it from interviews done since the 2020 election . . . Thank You should not be mistaken for a ‘fun read'-as This Town was often described . . . Thank You is on another plane of warning and foreboding. There are many laughs, to be sure, but with bitter aftertaste. And the message here, the final word, is anything but fun." -NPR.org
"[Leibovich is] just so good at this. He is a world-class ranter, continuing an American tradition that includes such dyspeptic luminaries as H.L. Mencken, Hunter S. Thompson and P.J. O'Rourke . . . [He is] a brilliant interviewer able to wheedle not-quite-admissions from his subjects, who give him all the access in the world." -Washington Post
"The main attraction to Leibovich's work is his wicked satirical talent. He comes at his interviewees with a skewer in one hand, a scalpel in the other and a glint in his eye. His frequent eviscerations of major figures range from subtle to scabrous . . . [T]he material in Thank You is new, much of it from interviews done since the 2020 election . . . Thank You should not be mistaken for a ‘fun read'-as This Town was often described . . . Thank You is on another plane of warning and foreboding. There are many laughs, to be sure, but with bitter aftertaste. And the message here, the final word, is anything but fun." -NPR.org
Readers Top Reviews
CT. AustinB. Rudd
*Note – I have no political party affiliation, and I always try to review books from a neutral political perspective. I focus only on the content of the book, not the politics of the author* This book is divided into 23 main chapters, with a total of about 302 pages, not including the Acknowledgements. In this book Mark Leibovich, former “chief national correspondent” for The New York Times magazine, describes how politicians in Washington responded to Donald Trump. Leibovich covers Trump’s campaign and time in office, starting back in August 2015, all the way up to more recent events in March 2022. Leibovich has a distinct writing style that is a bit sarcastic, and he is always trying to inject a bit of dry humor into his skewering of hypocritical politicians. Leibovich’s main targets are Republican politicians that first mocked and insulted Trump, and then quickly sucked up to him once he won the election. He shares some remarks from politicians that he interviewed over the years, as well as other public comments that illustrate the general sentiments on Capitol Hill. Having said that, at least this author has a bit of a sense of humor; and his witty barbs directed at hypocritical politicians might even produce some smiles on both sides of the isle. Still, I would imagine this book will get mostly positive reviews from left-leaning readers, and mostly negative reviews from the right, whether you are/were a Trump supporter or not. As a neutral, non-affiliated reader, I would give this book about a 3.4 / 5. It isn’t really unbiased, and doesn’t contain a great deal of new information or insight, but at least parts of it are somewhat amusing.
Carol JCT. Austi
Tells the unvarnished story of how all of Trump's toadies have fallen over themselves to curry favor. Who knows what will happen but if the worm turns, history will label these people as some of the worst of the worst this country has ever seen. Would not !like to be their kids to carry the name forwarc.
David CrowCarol
Having lived in Washington, DC and been involved in politics since 1975, I have read countless books about the political process, policy, and political figures. There are many excellent books and authors that have done terrific jobs explaining the arcane mess that is the nation's Capitol. However, if you want to read about what actually goes on inside DC, with penetrating insight, incredible humor, and stunning honesty, Mark Liebovich is in a class by himself. How he continues to get the quotes and meetings with key political figures is a testament to his greatness as a journalist. When he wrote, This Town, a book that begins with Tim Russert's funeral and ends with an extraordinary account of the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and all of the inside baseball stories between both parties, I read the book twice and sent it to all my friends telling them this book is so accurate. Thank you for your Servitude is another astounding work that not only explains Donald Trump but the Republican Party he captured. For all political types, this is a must read.
moviebuffDavid Cr
We often ask “why did the GOP become so taken over by Trumpism”? This book lays out interesting, convincing reasons that go toward explaining this disaster. Very well written and following the factual time line it runs through the 5 year period 2015 to 2021 bringing back to life that rollercoaster ride of events. I don’t often find a book I can’t put down but this was one. Highly recommend it.
Joseph A. Cari, J
This book so captures the essence of trump, his Supporters and his lackeys. A must read. The author’s style of writing is terrific,,
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter 1
The Problem
August 2015-March 2016
E veryone had a theory about why it was their turn.
Chris Christie kept pushing the idea that voters tend to favor presidential candidates who represent the biggest departure from the incumbent. He was their departure. "That is the argument people make to me about why I should run," Christie told me, just before he started his prolonged public campaign of "looking at it." "They say, 'No one could be more the opposite of Barack Obama from a personality standpoint than you. Therefore, you're perfect.'"
Governor Perfect had built-in assets. New York-D.C. media and GOP donor types loved him. He was great on WFAN and a superstar banterer in the TV greenrooms. He was a merciless but familiar brute, like the New Jersey Turnpike. He would stay within certain lanes, unlike Trump. But if you were sick of the same old robots, clowns, Clintons, or Bushes, Christie was your viable off-ramp.
I ran into him in Cleveland before the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign, or "cycle," as the pros call it. It was a Fox News production, billed on the chyrons as "The Rumble in the Rust Belt." Christie arrived at Quicken Loans Arena a few hours before the cattle call. He tossed out towel-snapping insults at reporters, comparing us to jackals, snakes, maggots, and other beloved creatures.
As he entered his backstage holding area in Cleveland, Christie compared himself to a penned-in bull, eager to make America his china shop. I wished him luck.
Likewise, Rand Paul, who was entering the arena at an adjacent loading dock. He had heard that libertarians were, at long last, "having a moment" in America. Why not him? He was younger, slicker, and less of a crank than his patriarch dad, Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman from Texas and a three-time presidential candidate. Rand had even gone straight enough to get elected to the Senate, from Kentucky. He was an odd duck, no question, but was he any worse than Ted Cruz? John McCain once referred to them both as "wacko birds."
Cruz was at the debate, too, convinced this was his moment. He was elected to the Senate in 2012 and in short order proved he had zero interest in achieving the kinds of things senators had traditionally prided themselves on, like passing laws, getting committee assignments, and earning the respect of colleagues. These were never distinctions that would impress the Fox News bookers, or the blood-lusting "base," so he never saw the point. Becoming a maximum nuisance was far more productive for his purposes.
He would do things like promise to shut down the government unless Obamacare was killed. This was never going to happen, for many reasons, two being that the president was still named "Obama" and the Constitution still granted him veto power. Cruz's colleagues knew this was a wasteful and self-destructive effort that would succeed only in "stirring up the crazies" (another McCain term).
"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you," Lindsey Graham once said. No one exactly rushed to Cruz's defense, either, unless you counted this "defense" from Senator Al Franken, who maintained that he did like Cruz, or more than most of his colleagues did. "And I hate Ted Cruz," Franken said-important caveat.
Still, Cruz's unpopularity in Washington was a defining asset, to his mind, in that it lent him credibility as an irritant. It offered proof that he was not concerned about fitting in with these grimy swamp creatures. He was happy to play the turd in the Republican punch bowl. His problem was that Trump proved to be an even bigger turd, glowing orange and impossible to miss.
At the risk of pushing this metaphor WAY too far, Jeb Bush was the innocuous lemon slice in this punch bowl. Trump dismissed Bush, the former Florida governor, as "low energy," a brutally effective descriptor for a candidate whose logo included an exclamation point-"Jeb!"-in a desperate attempt to inject vitality.
Bush had been anointed the early "establishment favorite" by those who anointed such things. He was accustomed, by birthright, to such deference from professional Republicans. Trump never bothered with deference, at least when it came to Bush, as opposed to, say, Putin.
Neither did Marco Rubio. The former Speaker of the Florida House had been a protŽgŽ of Governor Jeb's years before, which compelled a few media Freuds to trot out the trusty oedipal clichŽ about son overtaking Dad. Others preferred the Rubio-as-Judah construction. Who did Marco think he was, anyway, not waiting his turn?
What the media geniuses all agreed on was that Trump's turn was about to end. His noisy parade float would assuredly run agr...
The Problem
August 2015-March 2016
E veryone had a theory about why it was their turn.
Chris Christie kept pushing the idea that voters tend to favor presidential candidates who represent the biggest departure from the incumbent. He was their departure. "That is the argument people make to me about why I should run," Christie told me, just before he started his prolonged public campaign of "looking at it." "They say, 'No one could be more the opposite of Barack Obama from a personality standpoint than you. Therefore, you're perfect.'"
Governor Perfect had built-in assets. New York-D.C. media and GOP donor types loved him. He was great on WFAN and a superstar banterer in the TV greenrooms. He was a merciless but familiar brute, like the New Jersey Turnpike. He would stay within certain lanes, unlike Trump. But if you were sick of the same old robots, clowns, Clintons, or Bushes, Christie was your viable off-ramp.
I ran into him in Cleveland before the first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign, or "cycle," as the pros call it. It was a Fox News production, billed on the chyrons as "The Rumble in the Rust Belt." Christie arrived at Quicken Loans Arena a few hours before the cattle call. He tossed out towel-snapping insults at reporters, comparing us to jackals, snakes, maggots, and other beloved creatures.
As he entered his backstage holding area in Cleveland, Christie compared himself to a penned-in bull, eager to make America his china shop. I wished him luck.
Likewise, Rand Paul, who was entering the arena at an adjacent loading dock. He had heard that libertarians were, at long last, "having a moment" in America. Why not him? He was younger, slicker, and less of a crank than his patriarch dad, Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman from Texas and a three-time presidential candidate. Rand had even gone straight enough to get elected to the Senate, from Kentucky. He was an odd duck, no question, but was he any worse than Ted Cruz? John McCain once referred to them both as "wacko birds."
Cruz was at the debate, too, convinced this was his moment. He was elected to the Senate in 2012 and in short order proved he had zero interest in achieving the kinds of things senators had traditionally prided themselves on, like passing laws, getting committee assignments, and earning the respect of colleagues. These were never distinctions that would impress the Fox News bookers, or the blood-lusting "base," so he never saw the point. Becoming a maximum nuisance was far more productive for his purposes.
He would do things like promise to shut down the government unless Obamacare was killed. This was never going to happen, for many reasons, two being that the president was still named "Obama" and the Constitution still granted him veto power. Cruz's colleagues knew this was a wasteful and self-destructive effort that would succeed only in "stirring up the crazies" (another McCain term).
"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you," Lindsey Graham once said. No one exactly rushed to Cruz's defense, either, unless you counted this "defense" from Senator Al Franken, who maintained that he did like Cruz, or more than most of his colleagues did. "And I hate Ted Cruz," Franken said-important caveat.
Still, Cruz's unpopularity in Washington was a defining asset, to his mind, in that it lent him credibility as an irritant. It offered proof that he was not concerned about fitting in with these grimy swamp creatures. He was happy to play the turd in the Republican punch bowl. His problem was that Trump proved to be an even bigger turd, glowing orange and impossible to miss.
At the risk of pushing this metaphor WAY too far, Jeb Bush was the innocuous lemon slice in this punch bowl. Trump dismissed Bush, the former Florida governor, as "low energy," a brutally effective descriptor for a candidate whose logo included an exclamation point-"Jeb!"-in a desperate attempt to inject vitality.
Bush had been anointed the early "establishment favorite" by those who anointed such things. He was accustomed, by birthright, to such deference from professional Republicans. Trump never bothered with deference, at least when it came to Bush, as opposed to, say, Putin.
Neither did Marco Rubio. The former Speaker of the Florida House had been a protŽgŽ of Governor Jeb's years before, which compelled a few media Freuds to trot out the trusty oedipal clichŽ about son overtaking Dad. Others preferred the Rubio-as-Judah construction. Who did Marco think he was, anyway, not waiting his turn?
What the media geniuses all agreed on was that Trump's turn was about to end. His noisy parade float would assuredly run agr...
