The America We Deserve Hardcover – January 15, 2000

Think you know Trump? Think again! The America We Deserve is Donald J. Trump's political manifesto and was first published in 2000 when the Reform Party was making a strong bid to recruit him as their presidential candidate (he declined). Co-authored by veteran journalist Dave Shiflett, it's a rather remarkable book for a variety of reasons the most obvious being his unprecedented 2016 scorched-earth campaign for the Republican nomination. The first thing you discover from this book is that Trump does, indeed, have a method to his campaign rhetoric madness. Accused by critics on both the left and right of being short on policy substance and long on crude entertainment value, The America We Deserve reveals a different reality. Trump outlines a detailed multi-point plan to get America on track. All of the topics covered in his 2016 campaign are detailed in this 2000 book proving both a consistency and an intellectual framework behind his rhetoric. Campaign reform, education, tax cuts, immigration, military defense, healthcare -- you name it, it's in here. He even denounces Pat Buchanan (very strongly) and David Duke (as an aside) for their racism and extremism (which is why I believe he didn't take Jake Tapper's CNN question about a KKK endorsement seriously, Trump's record speaks for itself). He also expresses admiration for a broad range of politically, racially and ethically diverse people including Rudy Giuliani, Harry Truman, FDR, Ronald Reagan, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Jesse Ventura, George HW Bush, George Pataki, Hillary Clinton (Interesting!), Jeb Bush (Interesting!), John Kasich (His VP in the general election? Who knows?), JC Watts, Mohammad Ali, Mother Theresa and many, many others. Name dropping but interesting nonetheless. Trump considers himself "an old-fashioned conservative" which he defines as a person who thinks people need to take responsibility for their lives and their actions, who believes in freedom of speech, and most importantly, freedom of conscience. He also clearly supports the Second Amendment, supports the state of Israel, thinks some kind of national healthcare is necessary, and believes some forms of abortion, specifically third trimester abortions, are immoral. He goes on record in support of minority rights including Blacks, Latinos and Homosexuals. Trump comes across as a libertarian with a strong Constitutionalist streak but with liberal instincts on some issues to support freedom of conscience, in other words, he is not hard to pin down, just hard to label using the narrow rhetoric of the left and right ideologues who attack him most severely. The book, of course, is from 2000 and many of the issues he discusses have evolved in the legislative process. But some still rage and others, like terrorism and the economy, not only remain national issues, they have developed into national crises. In this Trump is surprisingly prescient, predicting a 9-11 type attack on America and the rise of China. Think you know Trump? Not if you haven't read this book. It is highly recommended and a must read for thinking voters.

I liked a lot. I’m a legal immigrant who came to this beautiful country to get opportunities that I did not found in own country and I totally agree with Trump’s way of thinking. I love US!

Having little background knowledge of Donald Trumps life, history, and world views, and Not knowing why he thinks the way he does, or his value systems, or what his vision for the future holds, this book provided a keen insight into all those areas. This book provided a well written outline of the history of his upbringing, successes, and shortcomings. The Author masterfully details Trumps plans, his reasoning, and his ethics. He delves into the rationale behind how he relates to the business, finance and and the basis for his political viewpoints. The book details how Trump views America and Americans, how he sees other nations, and how he relates to Politics and Politicians . The author reveals the foundational ethics behind Trumps policy and decision making, and provides an astute understanding of the man Donald Trump. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Whether you love him, or hate him- I would suggest you at least get to know him and his thinking and reasoning processes through the reading of this book.

Great easy flow of writing, worthwhile to study and emulate. Mr. Trump was proven correct in his warnings about the Islamic Terror threat, that they would hit very hard some American city some day soon: they did, that day was 9/11/2001.Trump is lavish in his praise for Jesse Ventura, then just elected governor of Minnesota. He is excoriating against Pat Buchanan. Those two stances very much date the book and clearly indicate why he wrote it. Mr. Trump was intending to run for President in 2000 on the Reform Party ticket. Ventura and Buchanan were competing for control of that party. Trump's campaign for President in 2000 never advanced beyond the exploratory stage, as a fuse to set it off, the fuse sputtered.Yet I suspect the book best represents Mr. Trumps current political mindset, now that he is in the primary phase of the competition for the Republican 2016 Presidential ticket. I do not think his political philosophy has changed since 2000, except tactically.The book makes clear that Trump believes in making strong connections with the power brokers of the time. Name dropping, praise for all, except Mr. Buchanan. Trump praises Bill Clinton, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt. Trump goes strongly against socialism, favoring free enterprise, much less regulation, free markets. Except ... a whole chapter dedicated to an exception.Trump adamantly demands single payer universal health care and pre-emptively scoffs at those who say that just like every other big government program, single payer universal health care would not work. Trump insists that somehow magically based on altruistic instincts it would work and work well. "Magically" is my term. But how else to describe that kind of thinking? Humans are humans in every endeavor.While an excellently written book, perhaps with the assistance of the second author editor and columnist, Dave Shiflett, after I read it and digested the material in the context of the 2016 campaign, I came to a conclusion. I had been "on the fence" regarding Mr. Trump's grand early campaign in 2015-2016. He has really taken it the politically correct and he alone was responsible for putting two major issues of 2016 on the mass media table. (1) The issue of illegal immigration and the need to "build a fence", to secure the borders and to greatly limit the now overwhelming and indigestible amount of border crossers, visa overstayers, and others swarming in to America today without adopting to our law and culture. (2) The issue of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton and their abuse of women. For both of those I do thank Mr. Trump.But after understanding his political philosophy as he wrote it back in 2000, which I believe he still holds to, I cannot support him. He is a socialist enabler, arrogant, mocking. He would be likely to engage with the elites in DC and against the interests of America.

This is a book that everyone should read to get to know our President better.

A brilliant Man & the best president ever! For the nay sayers.. Just wait, you'll realize that what us "conservatives" (I guess that's what those who care about America, freedom, liberty & rights are called) have been saying is all true!! Let's go Brandon!!!

A seminal book written as a manifesto. A worthwhile book written in 1998, by a businessman who dreamt of what was wrong with the US and how he would put right. The book surprisingly covers:- Family and Family values. His brother and alcoholism, His hard taskmaster father and his Uncle. All this is a revelation that aspires to a solid view on Family;- Business and Regulation. This is what he is good at. Worth knowing his views on Regulation.- People. The forgotten little man.- Foreign Policy. The mediocrity of those who practice it; Extrapolating rather than Breaking the mould to a new paradigm.- Environment. His view is anti environmentalist who trades off technological progress providing solutions.- Politics. Replacing bureaucracy with value add performance for the Nation.

Read in 2019. Why in heavens name is this side of Donald Trump not publicised more, to balance all the pathetic anti-Trump and biased garbage put out by the current anti-Trump media. Bring it up to date and republish - please. Perhaps CNN would like to put in an offer to sponsor it!!!

very easy to buy and then use, can download the app and then read the book on my tabled and/or phone depending on what I've got on me. Brilliant, very space saving and much cheaper than the hard back

"We don't have our dream handed to us. We build it. We have our vision, then we go out and make it real. Yet the tax system clearly punishes the nation's dreamers, big and small. That's why the Trump debt-reduction tax plan would benefit the American Dream.Most people are not going to take time away from their families and work themselves to exhaustion trying to make more money if the government takes such a large cut of their profits. High taxes are a levy on human achievement and a subsidy for mediocrity. (Donald J. Trump, "The America We Deserve", Page 178)Trump, now President Trump, defends the ordinary man and woman in this book. Although the term "Draining the Swamp" was not said in this book, it speaks to the waste and unethical behaviour of Washington career politicians. President Trump laid the groundwork in this book of why he would be a good candidate for the presidency. Little did he know that he would be given the opportunity to put into practice the many ideas he shares in this book.

As in time to get tough which the author penned in the last few years the america we deserve is from 2000,at about the year 2000 and the author has a few interesting things to say. Let me say right off that we all haveicons i'm guilty like anyone and he mentions movie stars businessmen and all types of people who have attainedcelebrity status,incliding the writer who is known by 97 percent of the public. really an amazing figure and it just goes to show as a private businessperson how newsworthy he is even if the media may not always be inagreeement with him,they think he has a view which needs to be known. I think Trump as well as Romney arebetter accepted nowadays given the downturn worldwide as people seek answers and he does see at the time the world is becoming globalized and the need to reform and compete. 12 years later...the message stares everyone in the face.He saw it back in 2000 so he has some foresight and he has adopted a business model for success which is probablyquite different than what he thought when in school. He looks at foreign relations,and his approach is mercantilist except when some pressing security issue is at stake..and also health care and emphasizes efficiency...he's never been crazy about the health care system,but an efficient low cost system if it works would be great...but he would like choice...but the winds of change even in business are making employment less stable,and the need for a great education system...also we need to look at our cities and he spends time on that from everything to city structures...and his mantra is efficiency and low costs and profit making...the bureaucratic system is his main gripe...we do not need to go into the psychology and sociology of the reasons why but the belief in big government is waning and more decision making as close to the individual's as themselves...and its cheaper. This ties into efficiency as well as his main aim...let people make decisions who voluntarily want to help and show concernas in charities....there is also a discussion on orphans...he seems to do better among the lower to mid classesand with ethnic group rather than the upper classes...although he questions why the upper classes once they getto know him will like him he muses. C'est ca! As they say..this may be due to media spin...and also he is felt tobe behind great changes in all kinds of areas,which by and large were positive changes which promoted businessand prospects for the lower classes...they felt more empowered as power was devolved...and i dont know whythe wealthier as he says may not take to him so much...although he does mention some ethnic groups and perhaps theireconomic status is not a factor but the ethnic group or a combination of both...i think i understood that..but he represents change and reform and those doing better just have to be better informed about him...so still a book worth reading honest and interesting...and whomever wins the coming election many of the ideas may be consensus views!...Icons...our lives seem trivial and mundane without a successful person to raise us to the stratosphere and make us feel uplifted...who knows i think we all watch celebrities..but should we be so enamored...and what does that say about how we feel about those similar to ourselves!!