Insane Clown President Dispatches from the American Circus

Insane Clown President : Dispatches from the American Circus
ISBN: 9780753548400
Publication Date: 19 January 2017

"The thing is, when you actually think about it, it's not funny. Given what's at stake, it's more like the opposite, like the first sign of the collapse of the United States as a global superpower. Twenty years from now, when we're all living like prehistory hominids and hunting rats with sticks, we'll probably look back at this moment as the beginning of the end."

In this groundbreaking collection of twenty-four articles from Rolling Stone - plus two original pieces - Matt Taibbi tells the full story of the Trump phenomenon, from its tragi-comic beginnings to the apocalyptic conclusion to the election, through sharp, on-the-ground reporting, and gallows humour. His incisive analysis goes beyond the bizarre and disturbing election to tell a wider story of the apparent collapse of American democracy. Taibbi saw the essential themes right from the start: the power of spectacle over truth; the end of a shared reality on the left and right; the nihilistic rebellion of the white working class; the death of the political establishment; and the emergence of a new, explicit form of white nationalism.

From the thwarted Bernie Sanders insurgency to the aimless Hillary Clinton campaign, across the wilting media coverage and the trampled legacy of Obama, this is the story of ordinary voters forced to bear witness to the whole charade as it unfolds. At the centre of it all, "a bumbling train wreck of a candidate who belched and preened his way past a historically weak field" who, improbably, has taken control of the world's most powerful nation.

This is essential and hilarious reading that explores how the new America understands itself, and where it points for the future the world.

About the Author

Matt Taibbi author of the New York Time...