Nightmare Scenario audiobook

Okay, we’ve reached the end of the Trump administration and the expose books are coming. There were several that I preordered, but this one, “Nightmare Scenario”, by Washington Post reporters, Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta, is the one I’ve been looking forward to reading. And it doesn’t disappoint.Abutaleb and Paletta know how to tell a story. They start at the beginning of the Covid epidemic (strange to think we don’t know the end yet) and write about both personalities and disease. The personalities include medical, political, and business and the interactions between them. Tempers are frayed, advise ignored, and people are dying at an astounding rate. The authors write as if they’re in the room where it happened. This is an excellent book for those of us who want to know “more”.

Intriguing and thoroughly reported. Lots of inside information here, generally from people who are trying to make themselves look better. Both reporters do a good job of presenting complex information, and both are willing to admit that they are certain some sources lied to them.To me, the most interesting points were:• Most people in the Trump administration saw COVID-19 as a messaging problem, not a public health problem. So instead of confronting the whole issue head-on, they dealt with whatever the media was making a big fuss over at the time. • For example, the coronavirus task force spent weeks debating what to do about cruise ship passengers because that was such a compelling story in the news media. They spent very little time considering what to do about the far greater numbers of possibly infected people flying into the United States, or the large numbers of people flying into Canada and Mexico and then driving into the United States.• Alex Azar used to love to tell people that he was the most qualified HHS secretary ever. But shortly before the pandemic emerged in China, Azar convinced Trump to allow a ban on flavored Juul pods to go through. (Azar and many other experts thought the flavors would cause under-18s to become heavy nicotine users.) There was a tremendous backlash to this ban among Trump's base—bad enough that Trump screamed he would lose the election because of it. So because Trump was angry at Azar, he refused to listen to him about this new, worrisome infection in Wuhan. He either screamed at Azar, hung up on him, or ignored him."There are three possibilities here, he thought. This could be anthrax. There’s an antibiotic I can take for a month and a half, and I’ll probably be fine. This could be a hoax, someone trying to scare me. I’ll be fine. But if it’s ricin, that’s bad. There is no antidote." —Dr. Anthony Fauci, after opening an envelope that contained white powder

For those of us who live in a world defined by facts and not an alternative universe it is clear that over thirty-three million people have contracted Covid-19 and over 600,000 have died from the disease in the United States. From the time of the first case to our current drive to vaccinate all Americans there have been a number of predictions made by the Trump administration as to how to deal with the disease. At one point President Trump said it would be gone once the weather warmed up, then it would be done by Easter, then all we needed to take was the drug hydroxychloroquine or inject ourselves with bleach. These absurdities would be comical if not for the fact that people took Trump’s words seriously as how they should proceed, but what was even more ludicrous was the Trump administration’s overall strategy to cope with the disease. In Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta, both Washington Post reporters’ new book, NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: INSIDE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC THAT CHANGED HISTORY the authors accurately convey the inner workings of the Trump presidency and how they produced a strategy that exacerbated the effect of the pandemic on American citizens and still impacts the government’s response under President Biden. One could argue that it has all been said before. The lies, misinformation, and the stupidity just to secure reelection. We all lived through it and despite Fox News and other obscure outlets of right wing media, most news organizations have explained what has occurred as have a number of important books. However, none have gone into the detail and sourcing that Abutaleb and Paletta have put together and therefore if we want to become upset once again because of the crassness of the Trump administration and its dear leader there is a formidable volume that is hard to question, though the likes of Tucker Carlson and his minions certainly will.The authors have taken a deep dive into the events, decisions, personalities and results of decision making that have led to the catastrophic response to Covid-19 by the United States. They hold no punches, and they dig up information beyond what has been reported in the media for the last year and a half. Trump did not act alone in this process as he was enabled by advisers, cabinet members, friends, and family who shared his view about the virus and in a number of cases exhibited even greater disdain for the government’s scientific and public health experts than the president himself. Decisions revolved around unforced errors, petty rivalries, and a perverted attitude toward the virus that devastated the government – the key being the assault on science by Trump and his minions.From the outset the United States was at a disadvantage in dealing with the virus as China, despite Trump’s praise of President Xi was not forthcoming with valuable information that might have assisted in containing the disease. One of the key figures was Matt Pottinger, Deputy National Security Head who had witnessed the Chinese response in dealing with SARS in 2003 as a member of the Bush administration and as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who called for a travel ban with China and was ignored. Trump had just made a trade deal with China and was up for reelection and did not want to rock the boat. As the disease proliferated in January 2020, 1300 flights from China entered the United States carrying 381,000 passengers. The situation was exacerbated by the lack of cursory coordination by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, other agencies, and the inability of the heads of those agencies to come to agreement and leave their egos at the door.The authors present many examples of Trump’s modus operandi of pitting aides against each other and believed that the virus would magically disappear if he willed it so. Aides and advisors were completely unprepared for what was coming and focused more on their own survival as opposed to what was best for the country. Once the concept of asymptomatic spread emerged the dysfunction and disagreements mirrored what would later occur over the importance of masks, testing, ventilators, and the overall messages from the Trump administration cascaded throughout the media along with the negativity put forth by the likes of Fox News.The authors have written a carefully crafted narrative of the steps or lack of steps taken by the Trump administration from the outset of the crisis until January 2021. It relies on numerous interviews of government officials, culling of emails and other internal documents, along with speaking with people off the record. The result is that the authors follow the progression of the virus as each chapter heading contains the date, number of cases and deaths that resulted from the lack of the government’s response. They followed up the figures by discussing the decision making process in confronting the virus for that period of time. The chapters that deal with cruise ships which Trump wanted kept at sea or possibly sending people to Guantanamo to keep virus numbers down, the lack of PPE and other supplies to fight the virus, the misinformation put out by the Trump administration, the need by aides and health officials to assuage Trump’s ego as he did not want to deal with the virus as he focused on his reelection, and Trump’s personal comments concerning those who did not kow tow to his viewpoints all reflect the disaster that was the US response to the virus.All the important personalities are present. Robert Redfield, the head of the CDC was unprepared to deal with Trump’s “team of vipers.” Jared Kushner, the second most powerful decision maker next to Trump would bring in inexperienced people to deal with the lack of PPE and ventilators then when he became bored would move on to the Middle East or other issues. Deborah Birx, the White House Covid-19 Coordinator who did her best behind the scenes to move Trump in the right direction. Dr. Anthony Fauci, served as the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, became a foil for Trump who resented his popularity. Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist who mirrored Trump’s views concerning opening the country and its economic impact was brought into the West Wing. Stephen Hahn, FDA head tried to cope with the pressure in approving certain “cures” for the disease. Scott Azar, the head of HHS whose main goal after warning about the virus was to keep his job. Peter Navarro, the bombastic assistant to the president for trade and manufacturing whose commentary was always over the top. Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff whose views were a detriment to the health of the American people. Vice President Pence who privately seemed to agree with public health officials, but publicly fawned over Trump throughout. The authors integrate others into the narrative as the US fell deeper and deeper into the viral abyss.For Trump everything seemed to be about messaging. Trump and his minions saw the pandemic more as a matter of public relations than of public health. Reelection was his mantra and any information that was not helpful for that process was discarded. As Trump lost interest in the virus by June 2020, he turned nastier toward those who disagreed with him, his rhetoric particularly after the death of George Floyd became more racist. He would resort to threats of violence and prodded his supporters to go after Black Lives Matter protestors and used federal troops and police to create a photo op at Lafayette Square. Further, Trump’s desire to open the country up economically and politically would lead to super spreader events like his rally in Tulsa, OK and other areas. For Trump it was all about the economy and his reelection as his fear about appearing weak. The end result is that the disease spiked from Memorial Day, 2020 throughout the summer, and the violence that Trump encouraged spread throughout the country. Trump weaponized the virus as a tool that exacerbated existing divisions in our country as a means of retaining power for himself.One of the most important discussions the authors raise was the link between the virus, the death of George Floyd, and the racial impact of what was occurring throughout the pandemic. It is clear that the virus impacted brown and black citizens more than whites. Due to the socio-economic makeup of the country, i.e., more minorities worked in jobs like meatpacking that spiked the disease, 33% of cases involved Hispanics, 22% of cases involved blacks resulting in half the victims were brown and black when they only made up 30% of the population. In the end brown and black people were three times as likely as whites to contract the virus!The authors cover every aspect of the Covid crisis. Trump’s obsession with hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, the use of bleach, magical fantasy, pressure to approve vaccines as the election approached, and conspiracy theories are all present. In addition, the authors weave the threats against public health officials, the bifurcation of the country over mask use as a political statement for and against Trump, the personal price paid by those who did their best to stem the disease, the errors made by public health officials and their attempts to overcome those mistakes, and many other aspects of the crisis are on full display. The authors have written the most comprehensive study of what transpired from the outbreak of the disease through the beginning of 2021 and all Americans should consider what they have to say because another “nightmare scenario” is certainly something we will have to cope with in the future.

"Nightmare Scenario" is everything that I wish Andy Slavitt's "Preventable" was. It is the first, in-depth, historical draft of the COVID-19 pandemic that changed the world, told from the perspective of the Americans and how it ravaged the richest country on the planet. I say this in all of my reviews of historical and political books, but I'm something of a History Buff and an active politico. I'm always watching the news. So, as I watched this pandemic unfold in real time, you would have thought I'd have known everything there was to know about it. However, this book pulls back the curtain on what was actually going on in the highest levels of government as they tried, and failed, to stem the outbreak. This is a story about a perfect storm - a once in a lifetime pandemic that struck at the most inopportune time in American History, when we had a Commander in Chief who doesn't believe in science and was more concerned with saving his floundering re-election campaign; when Republicans, fearing his base, acquiesced to all of his insane decisions because they held the majority, and Democrats were powerless to stop it; when inter-department and agency coordination throughout government was non-existent, and filled with people engaging in power struggles; when the nation's foremost doctors saw the trainwreck coming from a mile away and did their damndest to stop it, against all odds; and when the United States was more polarized than any other time since the Civil War, and - not used to being asked to temporarily give up certain liberties for their fellow citizens - didn't band together when it counted most.This behind the scene account of the horrific Coronavirus response was sourced by officials in the highest levels of the Trump administration, the doctors involved, and others on the front lines, and as such, the authors were able to weave a compelling account of what happened day-to-day, hour-to-hour during 2020. For me, the most fascinating players to read about were Dr. Anthony "Tony" Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, and how their smarts and the respect they've garnered over the years were pitted against an uncaring President Trump. Indeed, the chapters dedicated to the two doctors and their biographies were the most fascinating, and made me see them in a new light. For example, while Fauci is undoubtedly an American Hero, in the early days of the virus he made some tragic miscalculations. And while it appeared, to many watching the news, that Dr. Birx was acquiescing to Trump's every whim and ignoring the science, apparently she was trying to walk the line of flattering the president and sticking to the facts so that he wouldn't oust her, fearful of who he would get to replace her when she and Fauci were really the only bulwark between a lying president and a panicking American public. It made me sympathize with both more, and I think history will look kindly upon them and their efforts to literally save the country.All in all, this is an excellent first draft of History - one that will undoubtedly be studied for years to come in universities. And, most importantly, like all excellent drafts of History - and all excellent novels, period - it is written in such a compelling fashion that you won't want to put it down, even having lived through it. I highly recommend this riveting account of the pandemic we just lived through and, for that reason, I'm giving this book five-out-of-five stars. Hopefully, future generations will learn from our mistakes the next time a pandemic rages across the world, and take quicker, bolder, data-based action to prevent as many deaths as possible.

Dispassionate. All the more devastating because dispassionate. Even the still-revered scientists come in for their share of criticism but really it comes down to the well-documented, willful failures of the former occupant of the Oval Office, his sycophantic enablers, and his “free dumb” loving cult. This first rough draft of history damns them all with meticulously researched evidence. Will we as a people learn from this?

The American response, failure actually, to the Covid 19 Pandemic was beyond incompetent, it was criminal and the result is hundreds of thousands who have unnecessarily died. If ever there was a reason to fight against libertarian and evangelical values infecting the US Government, then this is as clear and precise evidence as is possible.The book takes us step-by-step through the ordeal of the Trump administration, their bungling, internal squabbling, the idiotic concept of how to treat an airborne virus and politicising of mask-wearing. Fox's Hannity had more influence on Trump than America's best medical scientists. When a country is run by racists, then minorities suffer. When conspiracy theories are taken as gospel, hundreds of thousands die and millions will be worse off.But the lack of response and mismanagement was not just pervasive in this one area. There are dozens of crimes trump should have been impeached fo0r yet the right continued and still supports, the insane theories of right-wing nutters. The country has suffered from the fake over truth, myth over science era. And Nightmare Scenario chronologically documents what went on behind the press conferences and meetings.I now have a better understanding of what Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci faced with this dysfunctional chaotic and political partisanship biased administration. I do not accept how they played this, but I understand the exceptional pressure exerted by the Trump storm troopers. And I am not at all shocked.A lesson no one needed: If you vote for fools, expect the worse.

There were moments during 2020 where I, a hardened partisan voter, felt that COVID press was too harsh on team Trump. The authors even highlight that a pandemic would be hard for any president. But Nightmare Scenario really paints the full picture of incompetence of the Trump team. They were so uneven, relying constantly on intuition and bad science to guide policy. And every decision was tainted by the filter of politics. Trump was the worst leader to be helming control during a world wide pathogen.

Full disclosure, I read this book for work while producing a discussion with the book’s authors for the TV show I work on.This book was excellent, with detailed reporting and a clear explanation of what unfolded behind the scenes in the U.S. COVID-19 response in 2020. Its scoops — including former President Trump suggesting people with early COVID positive cases on cruise ships be sent to Guantánamo Bay and that the President was sicker with COVID than publicly known — are notable if not world-shattering surprises.But the reporting and narrative are what made this book earn its rating from me. It is clear that this book was built on detailed conversations with people in the room and that the two authors followed up and put in leg work to flesh out the story. The result is a thrilling page-turner that resembles a novel in its ability to keep a reader hooked. I was impressed that this book took something I lived through and was traumatizing for me to survive and report on into a story I didn’t want to put down.Working on this, it’s clear this book aims to be as close to comprehensive as possible at chronicling the pandemic response. In the book’s epilogue, they note that they hope this book can offer lessons for the next pandemic response to be better.This book informed. At times, it even entertained. But there’s a chance its biggest effect may be saving lives down the road.

An interesting look at how America organized to fight the pandemic. With all the confusion, backstabbing, empire building it is amazing that anything got done at all in regards to the Pandemic. For me, there are a couple of characters in this book that the authors fawn way too much over. The book becomes a non-objective, subjective work.

A very interesting and damning book about how the Trump administration screwed up the response to COVID-19. It's not a very happy book, but considering how well it is written and how insightful it is, I'm happy it came out so soon after the events it describes. There are a lot of characters; often it's very hard to keep track of things because of it, but the focus is always on Trump and how him being elected created an extremely toxic atmosphere. Highly recommend a read.

High-level summary in the form of a crossword puzzle clue: Dysfunction (5 letters).Good to hear the background to Dr Birx (finally), and also what scientific results led to the "bleach" conference. A cautionary tale for all.