Trump and his 'storming' (through the door) of the White House

The sheer volume of headlines generated by Donald Trump—due to his frenetic activity, the outlandish nature of many of his proposals, and his off-the-cuff remarks—is so vast that the headlines from just the first year of his new term alone would be enough to fill a book. It is true that the narrative by David Alandete, Washington correspondent for the ABC newspaper and a contributor to other media outlets from there, also covers Trump’s period of ostracism after losing the 2020 election, buried by the undemocratic desire to deny the results and foment a “putsch” against congress. That period of preparation for the 2024 presidential election contains the seeds of what has followed: it was there that the thirst for revenge was born, which gives rise to degree scroll and clearly defines the beginning of Trump’s return to the White House. It is to be hoped that Alandete will complete what he has begun and that we will have another submission this administration comes to an end. It will undoubtedly help provide a comprehensive understanding of what this presidency—disruptive in very substantial ways—will have meant, both for the United States and for the rest of the world.

Alandete’s work has many strengths. One of them is its straightforwardness: a narrative that does not attempt to tell a “story.” It can be said—and I write this from the experience of having held the same position, and for the same newspaper—that Alandete has been the Spanish press correspondent with the greatest access to the White House, first through internal sources that were far from easy to obtain, and later, with the press pool in the West Wing now more open but still highly competitive, maintaining a regular presence in the conference room . A witness, then, to what is happening around Trump, Alandete recounts one episode after another, without pretending to be an ideological prescriber and without turning what is a purely journalistic text into essay .

The book is also unique in that it addresses Spanish interests. In the United States, many books are published on the internal workings of each presidency. Bob Woodward, the “Watergate” journalist, for example, routinely publishes books that delve into the management of management . But those works do not address the specific national issues to which reporters from other countries are naturally more attuned. Alandete has been able to convey to the Spanish public, both in his daily columns and in this book, what the U.S. administration and Trump himself have plotted and said regarding Spain (and it is not very positive).

Some chapters of the book take on a tone of protest regarding this issue. The job of a reporter is to investigate, even if what comes to light does not benefit certain individuals, institutions, or governments. Alandete has clearly been subjected to harassment on social media by some Spanish ministers, politicians, and journalists who have criticized him for his tireless efforts to work as a correspondent.

The book is a quick read thanks to the fluidity of the text and the relatively short chapters (of which there are quite a few: fifty). Through a mosaic of situations involving a multitude of characters—“intrigue, secrets, and power in Trump’s return to the White House,” as the subtitle puts it—Alandete offers insights into the peculiar president and the start of his second term.