The Gilded Rage: A Wild Ride Through Donald Trump's America

By David Talbot and Alexander Zaitchik

“A series of fascinating Studs-Terkel-style long-form interviews with” Trump supporters from Pennsylvania to California “who defy easy categorization” (BillMoyers.com).
 
In 2016, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign succeeded despite behavior that would cripple any other politician, from questioning the patriotism of the Gold Star Khan family to banishing a baby from a press conference. It is imperative to understand why such behavior was either cheered on or shrugged off by his base. To find out, Alexander Zaitchik traveled the country, attending Trump rallies, meeting their attendees, and listening to their stories, thoughts, and perspectives. In The Gilded Rage, he provides essential insight into the forgotten Americans who befuddled pundits and “experts” on CNN and FOX alike.
 
This book provides an intimate portrait of the walking wounded who make up Trump’s base. Desperate and angry, these are the Americans of the vanishing industrial heartland, depressed Appalachian coal country, and the no-man’s land along the Southwestern border. They have no illusions about the grandstanding billionaire and his glaring flaws. But these men and women feel screwed over by political, corporate and media elites . . . and they believe Donald Trump might be their last chance for salvation.
 
Reminiscent of Studs Terkel’s Working, with a dash of Hunter S. Thompson, Alexander Zaitchik takes us deeper into the ravaged soul of America than any other chronicler of our times.
 
A Publishers Weekly Top Ten pick for Politics & Current Events of Fall 2016

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781510714304

David Talbot

David Talbot is the author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years and the acclaimed national bestseller Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love. He is the founder and former editor in chief of Salon, and was a senior editor at Mother Jones and the features editor at the San Francisco Examiner. He has written for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Time, The Guardian, and other major publications. Talbot lives in San Francisco, California.