The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Now the world can read Mary Trump’s blistering book about her uncle. Holding it back would have been pure censorship.

Perspective by
Former columnist
July 2, 2020 at 7:45 a.m. EDT
President Trump at the White House last week. His family tried to block the publication of a book by his niece. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

No book is going to make much of a difference in the way President Trump is viewed by American voters.

The publishing industry has cranked out dozens, if not hundreds, of critical Trump-related volumes over the past four years, and still his base holds steady. His approval ratings sit at 40 percent — apparently immovable despite the bungled handling of a global pandemic, reports of Russian bounties paid to kill U.S. soldiers or thousands of Trumpian lies.