The Trump Presidency

Gr 6 Up–Allen has penned an unflinching but brief outline of the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency. In five short chapters, the author focuses on key areas of the administration: Trump’s combative style of leadership, foreign policy, immigration, tax cuts, and economic and environmental regulations. Allen often points out the president’s inconsistencies in policies. While dry, the style is straightforward and works well for readers seeking a broad overview of the administration. Several pages of source notes, an index, a further reading list, and photo credits are included. Several sidebars highlight major issues (the treatment of the media as “fake news,” Trump’s relationship with Israel, steel tariffs, renewable energy, and taxes on the middle class). Unfortunately, the font choice and background texture make these hard to read. Additionally, the book suffers from the nature of our frequently changing news cycle, which makes it already out of date; for example, one of the sidebars simply states that impeachment proceedings in the House had just begun.