Unbelievable by Katy Tur

Unbelievable

by Katy Tur

Katy Tur was one of a select cadre of NBC reporters on the road during the grueling 2016 presidential campaign, reporting from small towns and venues across America for more than sixteen months. At the beginning of the primaries, Tur was assigned the Trump campaign-a campaign widely considered a long shot by politicos and the media. But primary after primary, the novice outsider trumped his rivals, and won the hearts and votes of many Republicans. His appeal to working class whites, the GOP’s traditional middle and upper middle class base, and conservative evangelicals took all the way to the White House, astonishing the nation and the world.

Unbelievable is Tur’s inside account of being embedded with the campaign, revealing what it was like to report on the most combative and volatile major party candidate ever to run for office and win. At first, Trump tried to charm Tur into providing fawning coverage. When that didn’t work, he stooped to berating and shaming her, stoking the rage of his legion of supporters-many who threatened Tur and other penned-in reporters at his events. The vitriol reached such a fevered pitch, that following one rally during which Trump launched a personal attack against her, the Secret Service had to accompany Tur to her car. But Katy was not alone. Millions of Americans watched in disbelief as Trump ordered Tur to “be quiet” during one of his many press conferences, called her “disgraceful,” “third-rate,” “not nice,” and “Little Katy.” In response, thousands of people across the country rushed to her defense, tweeting #imwithtur.

Intriguing, disturbing, and powerful, Unbelievable is an unprecedented eyewitness account of the 2016 election from an intelligent, dedicated journalist at the center of it-a thoughtful historical record that offers eye-opening insights and details on our political process, the media, and the mercurial forty-fifth president of the United States.

Reviewed by Beth C. on

4 of 5 stars

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I know I have wondered - what would it have been like to really see Trump on the campaign trail? Was it really as crazy and unhinged as the news portrayed? And while it certainly seems that the answer is a resounding "YES" now that we have lived with him as President for the last 2,516 years (or so it feels), Katy Tur's new book takes us along for the ride.

Tur explains how she ended up covering Trump, and what it was like to follow him, day in and day out, for the length of his campaign. From the beginning (HAHAHA - it's a joke, right?) to the end (Dear God, he's really done it.), and all the crazy in between. What it was like when Trump used her to inflame his supporters, and why being told that the Secret Service watch her most second to Trump is *not* reassuring. But above all, she opens a window into the ceaseless - and often thankless - job of reporters who are simply trying to do their jobs the best they can, which with Trump tends to equate to "fake news". It's a fascinating account, well written and sometimes blunt, about the highs and lows (mostly lows during this election) of a female reporter covering a candidate known for his sexism. Above all, it's an excellent account written by an excellent reporter who reminds us that this election was like no other - cultural norms once taken for granted by the political mainstream were beaten into the ground and pulverized.

Also - as a side note - if you want to strike up lots of conversation in your local coffeehouse...be reading this book. My standard answer became "It's very well written" until I had judged if I was treading on thin ice.

Unbelievable shines a light into a rarely seen aspect of a political campaign, and definitely gives the reader an eye- and earful of life on the trail with Donald Trump.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 13 September, 2017: Reviewed