Sunday Reading: All the President’s Men

https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-all-the-presidents-men

 In 1972, the journalist David Halberstam published his classic work “The Best and the Brightest,” which chronicles the missteps of a group of White House advisers who, against the advice of career State Department employees, advocated dubious foreign-policy strategies and ultimately helped lead America into a lengthy war in Vietnam. When both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations appointed their foreign-policy staff, Halberstam writes, the process came down to “a search not for the most talent, the greatest brilliance, but for the fewest black marks, the fewest objections.” The judgment and wisdom of those within a President’s inner circle are often crucial not only to the health of the Presidency but to the progress and stability of the nation. This week, we’re bringing you a selection of pieces about some of Donald Trump’s most influential advisers. In “Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of Trump,” Susan B. Glasser describes how the evangelical Pompeo became one of the President’s loyal soldiers, and, in “Audience of One,” she explores Lindsey Graham’s position as Trump’s advocate and examines how flattery has played an increasing role in guiding the President’s foreign-policy decisions. In “William Barr, Trump’s Sword and Shield,” David Rohde writes about the Attorney General’s push to expand executive power, and recounts Barr’s role as a protector and warrior for Trump. Jeffrey Toobin reflects on how Rudolph Giuliani transformed from “America’s mayor” into an aggressive peddler of the President’s mix of falsehoods, exaggerations, and half-truths. In “John Bolton on the Warpath,” Dexter Filkins examines Bolton’s role when he was the national-security adviser and the measures he pushed during that period. Finally, in an excerpt from her new book, Andrea Bernstein chronicles Jared Kushner’s family history and considers his current role in his father-in-law’s Administration. Taken together, these pieces offer an illuminating portrait of the President’s inner circle.