Excerpts: “Looking forward, the system can’t be expected to defend itself. We must rely on the legislative branch to fortify this guardrail. Among other measures, Congress should consider: imposing stricter limits on contact between DOJ and the White House; strengthening employment protections against political interference for federal law-enforcement agents; bolstering DOJ’s top watchdog to be able to identify and expose corruption; and revisiting expired laws around the independence of special counsels” (p. 124).

“’They think in the ring we’re supposed to hit each other over the head with chairs, but backstage we’re supposed to know it’s fake and the fans just want it. And I think that is really, really corrosive that they view so much of their role…as just to entertain the fans and give them what they want’” (Swalwell) (p. 155).

“The options are known by an anodyne name—PEADs—or ‘presidential emergency action documents.’ Recently declassified records suggest that the PEADs allow the president to invoke extraordinary powers. The records hint at draft authorizations to enable the White House to unilaterally detain ‘dangerous persons,’ censor the news media, flip an internet ‘kill switch,’ take over social media, and suspend Americans from traveling” (p. 185).

“’If we look within ourselves and undertake the arduous task of moral repair, America can restore the soul of its political system,’ I wrote in the closing paragraph. ‘We can once again illuminate a pathway for others onto the vaunted plazas of open society. If, however, we shrink from the task, our names will be recorded by history as those who didn’t pass the torch but let its light expire” (p. 204).

Taylor, Miles. (2023). Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump. Atria Books, New York: Atria Books.