Here’s a sneak peek at the first two paragraphs of The Art of the Steal: Trump and the Economic Hit Man Presidency:
This book is not just about Donald J. Trump. Yes, his name appears throughout these pages and in the subtitle. But he is merely a symbol of how the economic hit man (EHM) strategy has evolved, regardless of which political party occupies the White House. It has taken over the US presidency.
Other countries are led by economic hit men, including the two with the largest nuclear arsenals after the United States: Russia and China. However, the United States is unique in that it has served as a beacon for democracy during most of the past 250 years. The other countries have long histories of governments that are openly autocratic.
I could think of no better way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence than to write this book. I don’t have the power – or audacity – to repaint a reflecting pool, build an arch, or tear apart the White House. I do have an insider’s knowledge of the economic hit man system. And I believe that ultimately the pen is mightier than the sword.
So, I wrote this book as a way to celebrate the 250th. It is a testament to the fact that changing perceptions changes reality.
Trump foisted his perception on enough Americans to change the reality of our country – away from a trajectory toward democracy and toward one that supports an autocratic presidency.
In 1773, most Americans believed the English army was invincible. George Washington recalled the defeat of a vast British military force by a much smaller band of French-led Indians twenty years earlier at the Battle of the Monongahela. In less than two years, by 1775, perceptions had changed – enough Americans believed that the British could be defeated to change reality.
Our march toward democracy has been slow and erratic, but we’ve kept marching. Slavery ended, Blacks and women won the right to vote, rivers were scrubbed of pollution. Perceptions changed and people took actions that reflected those new perceptions. We kept marching.
Then, along came Trump.
He stepped in front of the marchers and raised his “Hail to the king” salute.
He sent a message:
The United States is collapsing. The “shit-hole” countries are taking over. The world is falling apart. I am the only person who can save us. I am your savior.
He applied the four pillars of the economic hit man strategy—fear, debt, anxiety over scarcity, and divide and conquer. I know that because I helped develop that strategy – as described in detail in the pages of this book. Although every US president before him, during my lifetime, used these four pillars, Trump is the first to turn them into his personal governing style. He has brought into the open a strategy that previously was unspoken and hidden. He has forced us to face ourselves. He has challenged us to change. As I write in The Art of the Steal:
Whether you voted for Trump or not, whether you love him or hate him, you’ll have to agree that he has shaken us up. He has invigorated American politics. . . He has exposed flaws in the system of checks and balances that I, for one, was raised to believe protected us in the US from the horrors we had witnessed in other countries. China, Russia, and other repressive governments were expected to have autocratic leaders. But not the United States.
To celebrate this historic 250th anniversary, I wanted to write a book that doesn’t just reveal the EHM strategy and the ways Trump has employed it against his own people. I wanted to also offer a new perception. I wanted to encourage hope. I wanted to provide a plan of action that each of us can use to turn things around as best fits our individual skills, personalities, and goals. I wanted to turn us back onto the path to democracy.
The Declaration of Independence offers a perception that is as relevant today as it was 250 years ago:
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them [the people] under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
This is the most important book I’ve written. Preordering will help it reach the bestseller lists that encourage the media to spread this vital message. Please celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by pre-ordering now.
or wherever you buy your books.
If you would like me to personalize and sign a copy for you or your friends, you can order it through my local bookstore, and they will ship it to any address in the US! Click here to pre-order your own signed copy.
What we did back then, we can do now. Reject despotism. Establish new guards for our future security.