Front Row at the Trump Show Hardcover – March 31, 2020

I found this book to be very informative, and enjoyed it immensely. The author is a fearless and factual reporter. This is an excellent read for anyone who wants the truth about the former president.

This book is absolutely fantastic. It is written without wasting a word. Karl takes us through history, but it's the history of his job, the press job, the way things work that we never see on TV. It's absolutely fascinating. I picked it up and never put it down. The writing is so crisp and the details of so many of the crazy things we've seen these last three years gives all of them even more importance. I can't say enough about this book...everyone should read it for the education, the information and the sheer entertainment of it. Probably one of the best exposes of what their lives are like in the White House that I've ever read!!

Jon Karl is the White House correspondent for ABC and the president of the correspondents' association.I don't watch a lot of ABC, although I used to watch their round table discussion back when it was hostedby Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts. George Will and George Stephanopoulos were supposed to providethe opinion perspective, but clearly Cokie was a Democrat like her mother and Sam, while he asked roughquestions to everyone, had his opinions as well. Stephanopoulos was not only in the Clinton administration,but was its liberal "idealist" to the more practical, if partisan, Begala and Carville. Stephanopoulos is abright and insightful guy, like other legends that Karl mentions like David Brinkley and Peter Jenningsand so forth. Tim Russert was a great guy and generally tried to be fair to all sides. But the critique thatremains of the media is that the vast majority are liberals compared to the will of the people. Karl has covered Clinton, W. Bush and Obama, who all complained about their coverage at times. But Obama also joked that the press were "my base".Karl is aware of all this and points out that the coverage of Trump is negative even when he has realaccomplishments. This goes way back to when he was with the New York Post and wrote his first bookon militias. Karl wrote a blurb for his own book on behalf of Trump, saying he was "best in the business"and "tough but fair". He appreciated how Donald was larger than life and always part of the scene withhis obvious and entertaining personal quirks. The average working class guy said, if I were rich I would probably show off and be a jerk like that. He thought about running for President as far back as thelate 80s, where a more hawkish trade stance is one of the few consistent political positions that can betraced. I remember in the late 90s when Larry King interviewed him about the leadership of Giuliani,Pataki and Bill Clinton. Then in 2000 he briefly looked at running on the Reform Party. The Apprenticetook up much of the next decade, and by the 2012 cycle he was one of the many who took a turn asfront-runner on the GOP side.During the early 2010s, Jon Karl conducted a number of interviews with Trump, questioning thevalidity of "birtherism". Rival journalists like Chuck Todd figured that Karl was taking the flirtationto run too seriously. As the book goes on, Karl sours somewhat, as the showman becomes lessenjoyable in the political realm. A major point of contention is the attacks on the press as the"enemy of the people". Karl goes into some depth on the strange codependent relationshipbetween the President and reporters. Another topic is The "assault on truth" which is really an extension of the showman hyperbole. Certainly The left isn't above making truth relative to other values.The year 2015 is always worth reliving for those who enjoy DJT. The paradox at that time is thatFox, which now is the only media outlet that tends to support him, was with the establishmentof Govs. Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio. Certainly Megyn Kelly won't be accusedof being a Trump supporter, and Karl celebrates the heavyweight reputation of the late CharlesKrauthammer. On the other hand, CNN became his nemesis, but at the time played all of hisrallies and covered his every word and action for free publicity.A main point for Karl is the personal drama that press secretary Sean Spicer brought to the job.Sarah Sanders, while she had her moments, generally had a more positive relationship. Hope Hicks is prominent again. There'salso a triangulation of Jim Acosta of CNN, who often disrupts conferences like an activist, butwants to be treated as a regular reporter. There are ideologues like Rachel Maddow and TuckerCarlson, but what they're doing is different, and Karl gets that.

Most of the books about Donald Trump have a clearly defined bias that begins in the first paragraph on page one. So let me break it to you at the outset. If you love Donald Trump, there are stories in this book you will love. If you hate Donald Trump, there are stories in this book you will love. This book is about as objective at it gets about a man everyone has an opinion on.Spoiler alert ... I'm mentioned in the book about a story I'd rather forget. During the campaign, Trump tried very hard to get me fired from my television gig. Jon tells that story with precise accuracy ... that's how every story in this book is told. If your goal is fact ... the truth ... Front Row delivers.There are some topics in Front Row that are not addresses anywhere else. I was seeking and found insight and answers to...1) What it's like to be a well-known journalist at a Trump rally. In particular, how it feels to have 10,000 angry people surrounding you and taunting you.2) What it's like to interview the president when he doesn't want to be questioned or challenged by anyone over anything. When do you push and keep pushing, and when do you back away?3) Does Trump hate CNN as much as he says, or is it just a game to him. What does he really think of Fox News?I also didn't know that the history of Trump's phrase "enemy of the people" to describe the media dates back to the French Revolution, and that throughout history it has been used with horrific consequences. There is so much significant history behind the White House press conferences, and Jonathan has covered them for two decades. This is a good investment of your time. It's the best book I've read in 2020 so far.

Really good book. For some reason I ordered it twice so I read it twice.

Not a particularly easy to read book . just like reading someone's diary. Full of facts. Depends how much you want to know about trump.

I was expecting a much more thorough and objective account, but this is many of he same simplistic anti-Trump banalities that have been around for a long time now.

Very enjoyable. Felt as if I was in the WH press room as I read this book. Fly-on-the-wall kinda stuff. Superb!

Great read! Recommend purchasing this book.