NPR

'Thank You for Your Servitude' casts harsh light on GOP's shift and its motives

Although Donald Trump remains an eminence throughout, Mark Leibovich's true subject here is Trump's stable of enablers and the transformation they have wrought on their party and themselves.

The nation's readers may not be crying out for yet another book about former President Trump and his era, but many will make an exception for a book by Mark Leibovich.

That is why Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission will likely find a place alongside all those other tomes trashing all things Trump.

People remember Leibovich's earlier take on the nation's capital — This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral - Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking! - in America's Gilded Capital -- which topped The New York Times bestseller list for three months in 2013. Critics at the time spoke of too much snark and gossip, but the book was also widely praised for exposing the incestuous, meretricious power elite of Washington.

An added selling point for some is that this time the acerbic Leibovich trains his fire on one party — Trump's Republicans. This Town was about the first five years of the Barack Obama phenomenon in America. Republicans abound in that book, too, but Democrats and their media favorites were arguably its first focus.

By contrast, the cover offeatures cartoon caricatures of Trump staffers, prominent Republicans, conservative media personalities and a recognizable January 6 rioter with buffalo horns on his head. There is not a

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
U.S. Troops And Equipment Will Leave Niger By Mid-September, The Pentagon Says
Niger's decision to kick out American forces dealt a blow to U.S. military operations in the Sahel. U.S. troops and some gear already have begun leaving the country.
NPR1 min read
Don't Fight Back
In 1964, the Birmingham Barons become Alabama's first integrated sports team. This is 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. What took so long?Today, we hear how baseball helps desegregate America's most segregated city. Roy Woo
NPR1 min read
New Music Friday: The best albums out June 14
This week, NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Ann Powers steer the New Music Friday podcast straight into the oncoming Father's Day weekend, following the lead of country superstar Luke Combs, whose new album Fathers & Sons is a heartfelt meditati

Related Books & Audiobooks