"Having read Jonathan Karl's first two books in this series, I knew I would have to finish his third within weeks of its publication and I cannot say that I was disappointed. Primarily cataloging the death of the Trump presidency and the details of his 2024 campaign so far, it paints "profiles in cowardice" and the legacy of Trump's team of incompetents that will not be forgotten by history. This is a work of present accountability, but perhaps it will be most crucial when we look back upon the history of it.

Normally audiobooks are just a way in which I particularly enjoy approaching books, but this one has some unique attributes that I must compliment. It is read by the author, who brings a certain life and experience to it beyond that of the average narrator. Similarly, it includes direct quotes from individuals including Trump presented via real audio recordings, reminding us how authentic this work is. I recommend it to the political junkie, to those frustrated with Trump and ready to see him cast off to history, and perhaps most of all to those who have not seen the writing on the wall for the MAGA Man yet: this is who he is, and he's never going to change."

"Now I’m really frightened.

To have so many cowardly members congress saddens and outrages me. I look at the history of my family’s service and I think President bone spurs. My father served and was wounded, my mother served, my grandfather served. Three uncles on my mother’s side served. Three uncles on my father’s side served, At least three cousins served. Three nephews served. Four of my high school friends were fools (as called by President bone spurs) served during the Vietnam Nam war. And, I volunteered and served. Knowing my family’s sacrifice as opposed to Trump’s cowardice is what Karl’s fabulous book infuriated me the most. I knew much of what he talked about but having it put together and validated by his sources created a sense of dread if this shadow of a man is elected. The additional information that I didn’t know about put a cap on it. Unfortunately the people who need to read it are unlikely to. That includes the right-wing media. I guess democracy is just too hard for some people. I am truly fearful."

"5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� - Profiles in Cowardice. A scathing indictment of the Republican party, covering mainly post-January 6th events. Filled with the input of Trump's own party and their unwillingness to back up what they privately say/feel when it comes to standing up to him (or the radical fringe of their own party) in public.

Highlights:
‎‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎�� Trump's 20-something leader of Hiring/Firing (with no other experience) writing and submitting the presidential directive to withdraw troops from around the globe-- and getting Trump to sign it-- without input or review from literally anyone else.
‎‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎�� Trump's lawyers' secret meeting with Jack Smith to argue why he shouldn't be charged regarding January 6th. They arrive, ramble for a *full hour*, revealing their entire argument they'll use to defend Trump. Smith listens, takes notes, then thanks them and says goodbye without needing to say anything else-- Trump's entire legal team is unsurprisingly inept.
‎‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎‏‏�� ‎�� GOP bends the knee to the most vindictive, petulant man in politics.

Well-written and extensively sourced. Not much may surprised you, but this book brings into stark relief the challenges the United States faces from within-- those in power putting Party over Country.

I never thought I would say it, but I really do miss the Republican Party from when I was a kid. Sadly, it really doesn't exist anymore.

My notes/highlights are shared-- some choice excerpts from them:

When he wasn’t golfing, dining with antisemites, or welcoming QAnon adherents to his club, candidate Trump kept himself busy with another hobby—filing a blizzard of lawsuits in state and federal courts against his enemies, real and perceived. These lawsuits are too numerous to fully detail in one chapter, but here is a sampling of the people Trump sued after he left the White House: CNN (for using the term “the Big Lie�� to describe his false claims of election fraud), Bob Woodward (for releasing an audiobook of his Trump interviews), New York attorney general Letitia James (for successfully investigating allegations of fraud against the Trump Organization), The New York Times (for reporting on his tax returns), and Hillary Clinton and thirty other individuals (for “an unthinkable plot�� to tie Trump to Russia). The legal filings are riddled with errors, false allegations, and shoddy legal reasoning, but they deserve more attention than they have received. Not because they have any merit—they don’t—but because the lawsuits themselves represent an abuse of the legal system by the former president, who systematically wasted the resources of courts around the country and used them to harass his critics and saddle them with legal bills.

“He lacks any shred of human decency, humility or caring,�� the former White House official wrote of the man he had served for more than a year. “He is morally bankrupt, breathtakingly dishonest, lethally incompetent, and stunningly ignorant of virtually anything related to governing, history, geography, human events or world affairs. He is a traitor and a malignancy in our nation and represents a clear and present danger to our democracy and the rule of law.�� Those words were written by a person who had served Trump in a critical role in the West Wing.

In private, McCarthy didn’t just acknowledge that Trump’s rhetoric was wrong—he argued it was dangerous. In 2022, Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of The New York Times reported on a private House GOP leadership phone call from January 10, 2021, in which McCarthy said he was planning to tell Trump he should resign as president. McCarthy denied the report, insisting he never said anything of the sort. In response to the denial, the Times published an audio recording of the conversation. McCarthy had said precisely—word for word—what Martin and Burns reported he had said.

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker was also a particularly frequent recipient of Trumpian counsel. Preparing for his one—and only—debate with Democrat Raphael Warnock, Walker received a call from the former president and, according to a senior advisor to the Walker campaign who witnessed the conversation, put the former president on speakerphone so his team in the room could hear the strategic wisdom that was about to be offered. “Just call him a child molester,�� Trump said, suggesting Walker make an entirely unfounded allegation against his opponent during the debate. “But I got no evidence of that,�� Walker replied. “Just do it. You can say there was sexual abuse on his watch,�� Trump insisted, according to the senior Walker advisor who witnessed the call. “Just call him a child molester.��

“President Trump asked me to lie to the public in four different ways,�� Brooks later told me. “First, he asked me to publicly call out for rescission of the election, which violates the United States Constitution and federal law. So that’s not a remedy. Second, he asked me to call for the immediate removal of Joe Biden from the White House. And there’s no right that Donald Trump or anybody else has to do that. Third, he asked me to publicly state that Donald Trump should be allowed to move back into the White House, reinstated as president. And fourth, Donald Trump asked me to publicly call for a special election for the presidency of the United States.��

“No, I’m not going to do it,�� he remembered telling Trump. “It’s not the truth.�� According to Brooks, Trump grew enraged, yelling profanities into the phone before hanging up on him. “It’s pretty clear he’s used to people doing what he says,�� Brooks told me. “Even if it violates the law.��

“You’ll find, when you become very successful, the people that you will like best are the people that are less successful than you, because when you go to a table you can tell them all of these wonderful stories, and they’ll sit back and listen,�� Trump explained. “Always be around unsuccessful people, because everybody will respect you. Do you understand that?�� That’s right. The future president told those college kids in Wisconsin that the key to success is surrounding yourself with people who are not as successful as you because they will think you are brilliant."
- Donald Trump, March 2016

In January 2023, he even won the Senior Club Championship at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach. “A great honor,�� he wrote on Truth Social announcing the victory. “Competed against many fine golfers, and was hitting the ball long and straight.��

On Sunday, according to the Daily Mail, golfers participating in the club championship were surprised to find out they were competing against—and already losing to—the former president. Although Trump had missed the first day of the tournament, he decided he was going to enter anyway—and just use his score from a round he’d played earlier in the week. Miraculously, he was now ahead of the pack with a commanding five-stroke lead.[8] As it turns out, Trump had been winning amateur golf tournaments at his own golf clubs in this manner for decades. In one particularly brazen example—documented by sportswriter Rick Reilly in his book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump—the former president “won�� a senior championship against one of the best players at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, by entering a score from another, easier golf course.

"

"Disclaimer: This"review" will not spend much time critiquing Karl's writing, nor his meticulous research and ability to masterfully interpret and understand his subject as it pertains to American politics. Like his two previous works, this latest edition exposing the Trump Saga is equally as sublime. Karl is brilliant, his insight, interpretation and execution of Trump is rivaled only by Mr Bob Woodward. I think, that Karl himself would understand my choosing to focus primarily on the scourge that is Donald Trump, because Karl understands that the Nation edges on a precarious precipice, one wrong calculation and an impending implosion awaits the USA.

"Tired of Winning" must be a mandatory read for anyone able to partake in the democratic process. The Trump Phenomenon is undoubtedly a clear and imminent danger to the Constitution, The Rule of Law and the social fabric of the United States. Now is definitely the time to wake the hell up from this seemingly endless nightmare foisted upon us by a megalomaniacal, pathetic and insane sociopath- The Devil Incarnate Donald J FUCKING Trump.

For myself, I'm shit scared. There's no elegance in this, nothing poetic or moving that can be written to describe it, nothing. Karl's latest book is littered with examples, anecdotes and commentary from those who have and had an intimate view of the Trump train wreck, and will surely terrify any audience, the only previsor: audiences who are acting in good faith.

America, many among your children have sadly fallen victim to the beguilement of an Insidious monster, under whose influence they have Forsaken your Long Standing Ideals, Torched your learned Values, Discarded your Empathy borne from prior Sufferings and the ensuing Beautiful Redemption, Broke your Oath of Decency, Shattered your Cherished Integrity and Stolen your Earned Respect.

Donald Trump has Lied, Intimidated and Bribed too many of Us and for far too Long. His Malignant Soul has sewn within Ours, the Ominous Seeds of Ignorance, Hatred and Fear. Disappointingly, many of those who knew better, who foresaw the Reckoning decided to remain Idle and Mute, as Donald injected into our Nation’s Soul His Own Poisoned Character. Many of those who remained Silent, did so out of Fear or worse our of unbridled self interest. Whatever the Reason, their Guilt will linger on, for Generations.

America; This is Do or Die! There is No Hint of Hyperbole, Nor an Iota of Sensationalism. History will record 2024 as the Single Most Crucial Choosing to Ever be Thrusted upon Your Shoulders. The Story of the Great American Experiment will Begin or End with 2024. Jonathan Karl, alongside an Increasing Number of other Courageous and Patriotic Speakers of Truth, Forewarns of the Danger. The Cancer must be Excised Immediately lest the Rot is becomes Irreversible.

I close with this, Jonathan, if ever you read this review, Thank You.
Sincerely and Appreciatively
Shazaad
"