James Patterson - Trump vs. Clinton--In Their Own Words: Everything You Need to Know to Vote Your Conscience

What offers more drama and character study than a presidential election? Though I usually stick to fiction, BookShots struck me as the perfect format for the unvarnished Trump Vs. Clinton storyin their own words. Just the scenes, none of the speculation.

In these pages are the candidates public stances, beliefs, and assertionson the media, foreign policy, self-image, spouses, and much more.

I hope this revealing collection of defining ideas and battle cries will be the perfect primer as the election approaches: everything you need to vote your conscience. I know that youll be entertainedand you just might be surprised.

James Patterson

What makes a president?

[DT] I know Hillary and I think shed make a great president.Trump University blog, March 13, 2008

[HRC] I cant think of anything more of an outsider than electing the first woman president, but Im not just running because I would be the first woman president.Democratic presidential debate, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 13, 2015

[HRC] Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.Twitter, April 12, 2015

[DT] Im going to be your champion. Im going to be Americas champion.speech following conclusion of GOP primaries, Westchester, New York, June 7, 2016

[DT] Im like, different.campaign rally, Sacramento, California, June 1, 2016

[HRC] Donald Trumps ideas arent just differentthey are dangerously incoherent. Theyre not even really ideas, just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds, and outright lies.speech on foreign policy, San Diego, California, June 2, 2016

[DT] I think Im almost too honest to be a politician.interview on CNN, 1997, rebroadcast on CNN Politics Vine, April 1, 2016

[HRC] I am not a natural politician, in case you havent noticed, like my husband or President Obama, so I have a view that I just have to do the best I can, get the results I can, make a difference in peoples lives and hope that people see that Im fighting for them and that I can improve conditions economically and other ways that will benefit them and their families.Democratic presidential debate, Miami, Florida, March 9, 2016

[DT] I am a whiner and I keep whining and whining until I win.interview on CNN, August 11, 2015

[HRC] Id be happy in a little office somewhere, thinking up policies, making things happen, refining them.undated conversation with friend Diane D. Blair when she was first lady, according to Mrs. Blairs notes

[DT] I believe non-politicians represent the wave of the future and if elected I would make the kind of president America [needs in the new millennium].The America We Deserve, Renaissance Books, 2000

[HRC] I think that the kind of results that I get when I am actually holding a position speak to that [being better at performing in government jobs than running for office].interview on CNN, March 21, 2016

[DT] No, hes [Ronald Reagan] not a model. I didnt like NAFTA [signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1993, but Reagan first proposed a North American accord in a 1979 speech, and a precursor to NAFTA was signed by the US and Canada in 1988], I didnt like some of the economic policies. But he was a man that I respected and liked, and he liked me.interview with The Hollywood Reporter, August 19, 2015

[HRC] I come from the 60s, a long time ago.CBS Democratic presidential debate, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, November 14, 2014

[DT] Im speaking with myself [on foreign policy], number one, because I have a very good brain and Ive said a lot of things.interview on MSNBC, March 16, 2016

[DT] I can be as presidential as anybody who ever lived. I can be so presidential if I want.interview with Maureen Dowd, The New York Times, April 3, 2016

[HRC] Its all entertainment. I think hes having the time of his life, saying what he wants to say, getting people excited both for and against him.speaking to reporters while campaigning in New Hampshire, August 10, 2015

[DT] Its easy to be presidential, you know. Being presidential is much easier than being the way I am. Takes much less energy.You know what they mean by being presidential. Be more low-key. But we cant do that!campaign rally, Berlin, Maryland, April 20, 2016

[HRC] Come out of those towers named for yourself and actually talk and listen to people. You know, at some point, if you want to be president of the United States, you gotta get familiar with the United States. You gotta spend time with Americans of all sorts and backgrounds in every part of our country.campaign rally, Wilmington, Delaware, April 25, 2016

[DT] Bad performance by Crooked Hillary Clinton! Reading poorly from the telepromter [sic]! She doesnt even look presidential!Twitter, June 2, 2016

[HRC] This may be one of the most consequential campaigns of our lifetimes.Running for president is hard. Being president is harder.victory speech on Super Tuesday II, West Palm Beach, Florida, March 15, 2016

[DT] I said, you know, this is something I really would like to do. I think Id do it really well. Obviously the public seems to like me.interview with The Washington Post, March 31, 2016

[HRC] He [Trump] is a dangerous presence.exchange with MSNBCs Chris Matthews (not broadcast but could be heard at the venue during a break in the televised Democratic town hall event), March 14, 2016

[HRC] Cancel letter to Donald Trump.Clinton White House, on whether to acknowledge Donald Trumps fiftieth birthday, 1996

[DT] I am nothing more than a frustrated writer of little talent.undated letter quoted in The New York Times, June 2, 2016

[HRC] There is a smorgasbord of personalities spread before me.letter from Wellesley to high-school friend John Peavoy, 1967

[DT] I dont want to be president. Im 100 percent sure. Id change my mind only if I saw this country continue to go down the tubes.interview with Playboy magazine, March 1990

[HRC] If she could go into the past to tell someone that shed been nominated for President of the United States, it would be her mother.The New York Times, June 8, 2016