Pretty clever and spot on for the time ( )

As far as political satire goes, this is brilliant. C. Buckley's expressions are gems one after another. He has quite a way with words and his bold jabs at the characters are priceless. Some names are changed (in a witty way!) but we all know who they are in this imagined-but-oh-so-true-to-life and quite astute satire. I haven't laughed like this in a while... But I can also see (as one reviewer pointed out) how close it comes to reality, which is scary in a way, and how twisted that reality was for 4 years of Trump in the oval office. ( )

This my 5th Christopher Buckley book. He is very funny and writes great satire. As an avid Trump hater I would have found this book much more difficult to read had Trump won. Now that I know he is going away I find that this book was enjoyable. It basically is a true representation of what we have seen and heard about Trump and those around him. The main character is telling his story as a memoir while in prison for a crime that he committed during his time as Trump's chief of staff during 2020. Buckley uses a combination of real people and fictional names for people that actually exist. The story outline of a Russian oligarch trying to get a law overturned so he can access his wealth and travel freely is just a background for a comic portrayal of the Trump administration. It's a brutal attack on Trump and his minions. It would be funnier if it wasn't about a real administration doing real damage to our country. Time to move on. ( )

Christopher Buckley's latest political satire is a disappointment. Filled with lame jokes and snide remarks, it tells the story of Trump's 7th chief of staff. His other books have been so much better. ( )

This was great. Not hilarious, but reasonably amusing. Satirizing Trump is famously difficult. How does Buckley do it? I think the answer is that instead of exaggerating, he actually tones everything down. Buckley's Trump and his henchmen are surprisingly reasonable. Reading the book is comforting and funny, not horrifyingly scary, because Buckley makes everything smaller and gentler.

You can read the book without hurting your brain, because Fictional Trump speaks English. Fictional Trump's corruption is small potatoes compared to reality, just a small piece of kompromat. His death cult of racist deplorables is there as an abstraction, but not as actual characters. Fictional Trump's policy positions are irrelevant. There's no virus killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, no climate change catastrophe. All the drama centers on (a fictionalized version of) the Magnitsky Act. Compared to reality, it's a breath of fresh air! ( )