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How bad is it? 'Even worse than you think,' says author

KUOW Photo/Sonya Harris
David Cay Johnston at The Summit on Pike

Journalist David Cay Johnston has known and reported on President Donald Trump for nearly 30 years. When they first met in Atlantic City, Johnston says he recognized Trump as “the P.T. Barnum of our age.” He has also said about Trump, and repeats in this talk, that “Donald doesn’t know anything.”

In 2016, Johnston published a damning book, “The Making of Donald Trump.” The work detailed Trump’s avoidance of military service, his failure as a self-proclaimed philanthropist, and a litany of other personal and business failures.

Johnston’s latest work is “It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America.” In it, he describes the Trump administration as a kakistocracy — government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens. In a call to action, he says Donald Trump is an employee of our government, and we need to act like owners.

This talk was presented on January 29 at The Summit on Pike as part of Town Hall Seattle’s Civics series. Sonya Harris recorded the proceedings.

Listen to the full version below:

Year started with KUOW: 2006