Gaslighting America

Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us

By: Amanda Carpenter

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

"Can you believe what Donald Trump said?"

In Gaslighting America, Amanda Carpenter breaks down Trump's formula, showing why it's practically foolproof, playing his victims, the media, the Democrats, and the Republican fence-sitters perfectly. She traces how this tactic started with Nixon, gained traction with Bill Clinton, and exploded under Trump.

Where some people see lies, Trump's fierce followers see something different. A commitment to winning at all costs: There is nothing he could say that would erode their support at long as it's in the name of taking down his political enemies.

His opponents on the left and right continue to act as if his fake narratives and conspiracy theories will bring him down, when in fact, they are the ruses that raised him up.

As a conservative former staffer to a competing presidential campaign, Amanda Carpenter witnessed her fellow Republicans fall in line behind Trump. As a political commentator, she was publicly smeared by one of his supporters on live television without a shred of evidence supporting the allegations. Slowly, she watched her entire party succumb to Trump and become defenders of his tactics, and Gaslighting America may be the only hope to bring them back to reality.

©2018 Amanda Carpenter (P)2018 Tantor

It is hard copy worthy.

Every now and then I get an audio book that demands that I have a hard copy to reference. This is one of them. If you need a road map to understand that Trump is a calculating liar and that there is a method to his madness, then you need this book. Every sane person in the country needs to read this book.

excellent analysis of Pres. Trump's method.

the 2nd appendix was wonderful for prepping me to listen to his ridiculous messages. So worth the time.

Essential reading - will help you see through the fog of deception

In this new age of industrialized disinformation warfare, it’s more important than ever to be a savvy consumer of political information, and understanding the gaslighting playbook certainly helps with that. If We the People don’t fight back against this debasement of our democracy, our political culture could suffer irreparable damage. We must demand that partisans deal with each other in good faith, and hand out just punishments and rewards at the ballot box.

Don't be gaslighted by poor reviews.

Written by a conservative never-trump republican, who I wouldn't expect to agree with on much, lays out a compelling argument (with direct quotes and dates for reference) illustrating the system DJT has perfected over decades to get the attention and results he wants. The reviews who throw shade on it because of a single part of one chapter that discusses abortion seem themselves to be trying to gaslight people against reading it. The only way to counter-act this tactic is to understand it, recognize it when it happens, and never give it the energy it needs to thrive. It's not just about DJT either. There are plenty of examples of our leaders using this tactic, just not to the extent that DJT does.

Interesting perspective but a little narrow

The author has a unique view into what Trump does with his gaslighting. She's not as conservative as I would like at times and sometimes she is not fully humble with how the book should effect the reader. It is well worth the read and Amanda seems like a very genuine and nice person who doesn't deserve what happened to her. I really think everyone who cares about politics or culture should read or listen to this book. The only thing I didn't like about the audio performance was the narrator kept pronouncing birther like brrthur.

I like the book but, the narrator bothered me.

Amanda has a good grasp on breaking down Gaslighting into steps that can easily be followed.

enlightening listen

This book is very gripping. well written. sad that it's truth.

the performance was excellent. this was my first non fiction audio book so I wasn't sure what to expect. it was not dry at all.

highly recommend this narrator

Interesting and informative

Could have skipped the occasional liberal bashing but overall interesting and informative with personality and conviction. Narrator ok.

Ha. Thou.ght this was something different

I like her definition of Trump's gaslighting. Then she leaves the path and somehow blames the Dem's tenor in 2012 for Trump. Yawn. She seems to forget the personal animosity against President Clinton and the advent of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. For me, the personal nastiness and the deeper divide started with the Republican Revolution, a.m. conservative radio in the 80s and 90s, and the endless conspiracy theories that were attributed to the evil liberals. The author lost credibility and her partisan stripes showed when she decided to become a historical revisionist. She apparently can't escape her bias. The Republicans are portrayed as walking on water. Indeed, the division and hatred are out of control, but she's blind to facts if she thinks that's a product of progressives. And it's too bad she veered because her starting thesis was fairly strong. After her "blame the liberals" skree, I can't go with her the rest of the way. She's just more of the problem.

Gaslighting America

I highly recommend this book!

This is an exceptional and instructive book that all Americans of every political persuasion should read at this time. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, repeating the first 5 chapters to be fully knowledgeable of what each step this president takes to gaslight us before continuing on with the rest of the book.

The way Amanda Carpenter lays this book out supports my argument to people of what a con this person is, what a liar he is and how he has hoodwinked his supporters. Laying it out, as is done in Appendix 1, to people who just don’t see it has been an eye opener.

I am a Democrat and I see Ms Carpenter on CNN regularly. While I may disagree with her on policy issues, I have always appreciated that she, as a Republican, has stayed true to her core and hasn’t allowed herself to be drawn into the black hole cult of fear for this man that so many other Republicans have been drawn into.

Thank you Ms. Carpenter for this insightful narrative!

Katherine Palmira
Austin, TX