and National Governors Association briefing, 54
National Guard, 239
Portland protests, 239–40
and Portland protests, 234–35
and Seattle protests, 202–4
and tension between Trump and Barr, 266
Trump interview on, 516
and Washington, D.C. protests, 160–61
Trump’s image focus
and bunker story, 155–56
and chaos in Trump administration, 32
and coronavirus diagnosis, 5, 302, 303, 306–8, 309, 310
and coronavirus responses, 76
and Durham investigation of FBI, 104, 139
and foreign policy, 445
and refusal to apologize to Pence, 494
and resistance to coronavirus precautions, 227
and responses to racial justice protests, 149, 160, 235
Trump’s internal retribution campaign, 50–51, 132–38
Trump’s responses to racial injustice protests
bunker story, 153, 155–56, 159, 160
claiming credit for actions, 206
divisiveness, 2, 155, 163, 173, 213
empathy with Floyd, 148, 149
and Esper’s public response to Lafayette Square incident, 174–77
and first presidential debate, 294
and image focus, 149, 160, 235
Mount Rushmore speech, 213
and Nazi Germany, 5–6
police violence encouragement, 162–64
politicization of military, 168–69, 171, 172–73, 184–85, 186, 187–88
threats of violence, 154, 205–6
town hall meeting, 317
violent disbursement of peaceful protesters, 166, 167, 169–71, 172–73, 174, 184–85
See also Lafayette Square incident; Trump’s demands for force at protests
Trump’s tweets
on ascertainment, 400
on Azar, 121
on Baghdad embassy attack, 17
on Barr resignation, 424
and Chinese stonewalling, 35–36
on closures/reopenings, 93
on Congressional vote certification, 455
on coronavirus diagnosis, 299
on coronavirus pandemic, 62–63
on Dominion software accusation, 382–83
on Durham investigation of FBI, 138, 313
during Capitol insurrection, 466, 475, 477, 478–79, 481
election delay proposals, 233
and election legal challenges, 390
and election rigging charges, 233–34, 355–56
on Floyd killing, 150
on impeachment trial (2020), 49
on mail-in balloting, 216
on Meadows appointment, 77
on military base renaming proposals, 184
on Osama bin Laden assassination, 331
and QAnon, 317–18
on racial injustice protests, 154, 205–6
on rigged election claims, 369, 404, 436
on Stone sentencing, 57, 59
on suburban fear, 268–69
on Trump campaign legal challenges, 413
Twitter restrictions and flags on, 206, 484
on vaccine development, 368, 369
Tuberville, Tommy, 466
Turkey, Halbank investigation, 191
2020 elections
ascertainment, 361
Berman firing and, 194
Biden attacks on Trump, 101–2
Hunter Biden laptop revelation, 320–25
Biden’s polling lead, 209, 214, 234, 242, 263–64, 308
Biden victory, 377
as close call, 6–7
Democratic National Convention, 243–44
Democratic voter participation, 318–19, 331, 354
and Durham investigation of FBI, 311–12
Fabrizio on, 234
first presidential debate, 288, 291–95, 384
Four Seasons Total Landscaping news conference, 357, 389
Georgia Senate runoff elections, 403, 431–32, 447, 449–50, 453–54
and health care, 24–25
and independent voters, 234, 264, 333
Lincoln Project, 209
mail-in balloting, 207, 216–17, 241, 265–66, 278
and Milley’s mission, 189, 385
and Postal Service dismantling, 215–16, 240–42
Republican National Convention, 246, 249–51, 252–53
Russian interference, 235–39
second presidential debate, 320, 321, 325–27
town hall meetings, 316–18
Trump’s delay proposals, 233
Trump’s orderly transition of power statement, 484–85
Trump’s peaceful transfer of power commitment refusal, 278–80
and vaccine development, 249, 258–59
See also Congressional vote certification; Election Day; rigged election claims; Trump reelection campaign
Twenty-fifth Amendment proposals, 486, 493
Twitter
suspension of Trump’s account, 484
See also Trump’s tweets
Tybring-Gjedde, Christian, 271
Ueland, Eric, 34
Ukraine
and Hunter Biden laptop revelation, 320–25
pressure campaign scandal, 60, 96, 323
and Russian election interference, 237
See also impeachment trial (2020)
Unite the Right rally (Charlottesville, Aug. 2017), 155, 490
Urban, David, 177
U.S. Capitol Police
assaults on, 462, 479–80, 510
and bomb threats, 460–61
calls for reinforcement, 462, 463, 464, 468–71
security preparations, 457
U.S. Postal Service dismantling, 215–16, 240–42
USS Nimitz, 445
vaccine development
briefings for Trump on, 69–70, 374–76
and Chinese genome data, 20
distribution funding, 271–74
and fetal tissue ban, 70
Operation Warp Speed, 2, 141–44, 282–83
Pfizer vaccine arrival, 368–69, 374, 375, 395–96
post-election work session, 374–76
timetable for, 274–75, 281–85
Trump’s ignorance of, 70, 396
and 2020 elections, 249, 258–59
van der Zwaan, Alex, 429
Van Ovost, Jacqueline, 362
vaping ban, 25–26, 28
ventilators. See PPE/medical supplies
Verma, Seena
and Azar, 33, 119, 121, 284
and Caputo’s illness, 277
coronavirus task force and, 71–72
drug pricing policy announcement, 394, 395
and vaccine development timetable, 284
Very Stable Genius, A (Rucker and Leonnig), 1, 8, 507
Vindman, Alexander, 49, 50
Vindman, Yevgeny, 50
Virus Research Center, 20
voter suppression, 241
Vought, Russ, 230
Walker, William, 446, 464, 468
Wallace, Chris, 292, 293
Wallace, Jay, 345
Walton, Philip, Niger kidnapping of, 329–30
Walz, Tim, 150, 163
warning signs, 452–54
Warnock, Raphael, 403, 453
Warren, Elizabeth, 24
Watson, Frances, 430–31
Welker, Kristen, 84
Wen, Leana S., 304
Whipple, Chris, 308
White House coronavirus precautions
and Hicks
coronavirus diagnosis, 297
and PPE/medical supplies, 130
testing, 130, 296
trip cancellations, 75
See also White House resistance to coronavirus precautions
White House coronavirus response
and Atlas, 227–32, 258, 259
Biden’s attacks on, 101–2
Birx coordinator appointment, 67–68
and China travel ban, 41–42
Christie on, 62, 89–90
and closures/reopenings, 85, 93–95
coronavirus briefings, 33–34
and cruise ban, 74–75, 286–87
data manipulation, 97, 98–99, 128
documentary on, 518
early lack of engagement, 59–61
and economic impact, 62
and Europe travel ban implementation, 84–85
failure acknowledgement, 328
McEnany on, 126
Meadows’ control over, 127
Operation Warp Speed, 2, 141–44, 282–83
Pence czar appointment, 63–64
and Pence office coronavirus outbreak, 327–28
and PPE/medical supplies, 85, 90, 91–92
staff briefings, 33–35
and Trump reelection campaign, 196, 214, 225–26, 229–31, 308
undermining of Fauci, 217–21
and vaccine development timetable, 281–82, 283–85
and vaccine distribution funding, 271–72, 274
whistleblower complaints, 98
White House muzzling of public health officials, 5, 64, 68–69, 71, 127–29, 257
See also coronavirus task force; Trump’s coronavirus responses
White House resistance to coronavirus precautions
and attacks on Biden, 215
and Barrett appointment event, 287–88
and campaign rallies, 200
Election Day, 339
exceptions to, 130
Kushner’s PPE supply team, 96
and Katie Miller coronavirus diagnosis, 131–32
and Operation Warp Speed announcement, 142–43
Pence Mayo Clinic visit, 123–24
and Republican National Convention, 252
and Secret Service, 199
and staff cases, 131–32
and Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, 300
Williams, Jennifer, 50
Williams, Mike, 42
Williamson, Ben, 477
Wolf, Chad, 78
Wood, Lin, 431
World Economic Forum, 30
World Health Organization (WHO)
and Chinese genome data, 21
and Chinese stonewalling, 53, 65, 104–5
pandemic declaration, 64–66
and Trump’s coronavirus responses, 31
U.S. funding suspension, 104–5
world health emergency declaration, 44
Wormuth, Christine, 469
Wray, Christopher
and Berman, 192
firing possibility, 132, 134–37, 359, 414, 417
and rigged election claims, 370
and Russian election interference, 237
and Walton kidnapping, 330
Wuhan Institute of Virology, 105–6
Xi Jinping, 35–36, 52–54, 108
Zelinsky, Aaron, 56, 57
Zuckerberg, Mark, 220
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
About the Authors
Carol Leonnig is a national investigative reporter at The Washington Post, where she has worked since 2000, covering Donald Trump’s presidency and previous administrations. She won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on security failures and misconduct inside the Secret Service. She also was part of the Post teams awarded Pulitzers in 2018, for reporting on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, and in 2014, for revealing the U.S. government’s secret, broad surveillance of Americans. Leonnig is an on-air contributor to NBC News and MSNBC and the author of Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service.
Philip Rucker is the senior Washington correspondent at The Washington Post and led its coverage of President Trump and his administration as White House Bureau chief. He and a team of Post reporters won the Pulitzer Prize and George Polk Award for their reporting on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. In 2021, the White House Correspondents’ Association honored Rucker with the Aldo Beckman Award for overall excellence in White House coverage. Rucker joined the Post in 2005 and previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He serves as an on-air political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and graduated from Yale University with a degree in history.
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I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year Page 68
