Book 116 of my 2023 Reading Challenge
read from December 9 - 18
Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History
by Katy Tur
Summary (via Goodreads)
Called "disgraceful," "third-rate," and "not nice" by Donald Trump, NBC News correspondent Katy Tur reported on—and took flak from—the most captivating and volatile presidential candidate in American history.
Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than 3,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer"—a Trump rally playlist staple.
From day 1 to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car.
None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur.
Unbelievableis her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Tur was a foreign correspondent who came home to her most foreign story of all. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life?
Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than 3,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer"—a Trump rally playlist staple.
From day 1 to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car.
None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur.
Unbelievableis her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Tur was a foreign correspondent who came home to her most foreign story of all. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life?
My Opinion
3 stars
I'm rating the book neutrally because what was a positive (reporting from the time as historical relevance without reflection or personal opinions) was also a negative (didn't go in depth about personal experiences which is what I was expecting) so it balanced out to be a fine read.
Remembering this time makes me feel icky all over again so I'm going to throw out some random observations and not make them cohesive.
Reading something published shortly after Trump's 2016 win knowing everything that has happened since just makes me sadder. He never hid who he was - how did everyone see this coming yet nobody take it seriously enough to really try and stop it? There are people who wanted Trump because they believed in him but it seems like there were also a lot of people, especially in the Republican Party, who didn't want him but went along expecting "somebody else" to be the obstacle...those are the people that make me angry (and still do as it's still happening).
Reading her experiences as a journalist Trump was targeting specifically on Twitter was heartbreaking.
Wait, what??? When she said, "like a lot of political reporters, I don't vote, because I think it's fairer that way. We are a part of the campaign; we are observers of it." Is that true? There is NO reason journalists shouldn't be exercising their right to vote, not only because everyone should but also because they're going to be among the most informed. By that logic, no politician votes? That's not true. Nobody that works on a campaign votes? That's not true. So vote or don't but don't say it's because of the job.
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