Amanda Carpenter - Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us

T his book would not have been possible without my husband, Chris. Throughout my career, he has given me invaluable advice and supported me every step of the way. Ive pursued stressful jobs that require being on call at all times and hes offered nothing but love and encouragement as I rushed away for emergency conference calls and television hits, or barricaded myself behind closed doors to write the next big piece.

I thank my two young children for motivating me to write this book. President Trump is the first president they have been able to recognize. One day theyll ask me what his presidency was like. Knowing this, I felt an urgency to capture the disorienting quality of this election before those memories fade into history. Kids, I pray this book helps guard your generation from falling for any kind of similar con.

My manager, Josanne Lopez, is a rock. I am indebted to her not only for her help guiding my career, but for her friendship. 2016 was an emotional roller coaster and she was an unwavering source of refuge where I could turn to in times of need.

Working with my editor, Eric Nelson, to bring this book from my proposal to print has been a delight. From the start, he believed in the vision I had and made it a reality. The entire team at HarperCollins is stellar and made the writing process, widely known to induce ulcers and tears, enjoyable and fun.

My work at CNN informed a significant part of this book. I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to be part of their incredible team of executives, anchors, producers, and assistants.

Lastly, I thank Jim DeMint and Ted Cruz for allowing me to assist them in the United States Senate and contribute, in my small way, to this unique chapter in American political history. Both men possess the exceedingly rare capability to put principle over party and pulled together teams of dedicated patriots willing to do the same. It was an honor to be included with them.

God bless each and every one of you.

B efore the 2016 election, I viewed foreign lands where dictators could convince whole populations that two plus two equals five as tragic glitches in history that could never happen here. Not anymore. After living through the 2016 election, I can see quite plainly how, if the conditions are right, it can happen anywhere, anytime. I mention the phrase two plus two intentionally. Two plus two equals five was a slogan used in the Soviet Union that was later famously incorporated by George Orwell in his dystopian novel, 1984. Joseph Stalin used the phrase to convince his people that the government would complete his ambitious Five-Year Plan in four years. But the idea is bogus on its face. Two plus two doesnt equal five, no matter what rationale is used. What Stalin didnt say when he was ginning up support for his glorious plan was that the big secret to getting it done was that Soviet workers would need to produce five years worth of work in four years. If they did not comply, to the gulag they would go.

Thats not to say that the Trump administration plans to send anyone to a work camp, although it is a long-standing joke (I hope) among Republicans who, like me, consider themselves members of the Never Trump crowd that well all be together in a jail cell one of these days.

In 1984, Orwells protagonist, Winston Smith, ponders the infamous equation as the novel explores whether well-meaning people, with enough pressure from Big Brother, will buckle and compromise their most fundamental beliefs. Eventually, Winston breaks. He concedes that, yes, two plus two does equal five. Why? Spoiler alert: The benefit of embracing the lie ultimately outweighs the sacrifice required to cling to the truth. Sometimes, more often than wed like to admit, lies are easier to believe than the truth. Especially in politics.

The natures of the major characters in the 2016 presidential election, however, are much stranger than those in Orwells fiction. At least Winston showed some remorse about succumbing to the lies. Trump and his allies did it with a smile, posing as truth-tellers while launching an all-out assault on facts and values alike. For those who wanted to board the Trump train, outward expressions of belief in Trumps grand lies were required, litmus tests of loyalty. Republicans came to believe it was necessary for their political survival and so unquestioningly repeated his mantras.

Throughout the 2016 campaign, I watched devout evangelicals champion a foulmouthed, thrice-married casino magnate who loved talking dirty with Howard Stern; profited off the young women he paraded around in various stages of undress in his beauty pageants and casino strip clubs; and bragged about grabbing women by the pussy. Republican Party officials who spent their lives blaming Democrats for the collapse of the American Dream saluted Trump, disregarding how he had generously donated to Democratic candidates and causes. Mike Pence, the unflinchingly polite and pious evangelical congressman whom I had knocked on doors for as a college student in Muncie, Indiana, praised Trump as the next Ronald Reagan and happily became his vice president. Even my former boss, Ted Cruz, endorsed Trump despite once calling him a pathological liar.

Maybe I should have expected it to happen. They are politicians after all. But I didnt. I actually believed all the talk from the Tea Party Republican types about sticking to their principles and doing all they could to regain the voters trust. Somehow, the GOP found a way to win in 2016 without keeping those earnest promises. Does that make it right? A lot of people will tell you yes, winning cures all. Im not one of them. Winning is great, but if it doesnt bring real, positive change, its not worthwhile and most likely wont last long, either. Thats proven true already. Trumps victory hasnt united the party; its corrupted it.

Its not like we didnt see this coming. Since day one of Trumps candidacy, the New York real estate mogul has acted as if the Republican Party was something he intended to co-opt rather than join. He hardly expressed any loyalty at all to Republican principles, yet he demanded unwavering allegiance from members of the party.

Tell me, is this what Republicans waited for years in the political wilderness for? To babysit Trumps Twitter account and compete in a never-ending tournament of mental gymnastics to defend Trump from one self-manufactured crisis to the next? I know we have a higher calling than that. There is far more important work before usthe kind of work that if Republicans dont do, will never get done.

If the Republicans dont stop the out-of-control government programs, endless spending, and continued assaults on constitutional freedoms, who will? Not the Democrats. All they have to offer is more government control over the most personal parts of our livesnamely, our money, our health care, and our education. Things like the tax code, Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid arent abstractions. They are government programs that hit home, literally. But, more important, to our conscience, if the Republican Party folds up for good, will anyone ever advocate for the most dearly vulnerable among us, the unborn, in public office again? I fear not.

Going forward, all GOP candidates, from those running in the biggest, most expensive races to the ones in the smallest Podunk places, will have a choice to make. Will they endorse and mimic the sleazy but effective precedent Trump set in his stunning 2016 win, or will they risk sticking their necks out to demand something better for America? If you think thats an easy choice, let me dissuade you, much as it saddens me to do so.