Rob Sears, The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump (2019) *Strictly Unauthorized
A more eclectic book than any previous post, during this troubling time the poetry carefully curated in this work is as humorous as it is thought-provoking.
This groundbreaking collection will give readers a glimpse of Trump’s innermost thoughts and feelings on everything from the nature of truth, to what he hates about Lord Sugar. And it will reveal a hitherto hidden Donald, who may surprise and delight both students and critics alike.
Sears, The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump (Inner Sleeve)
What makes this book as funny as it is potentially worrying is that all lines of the poetry come directly from interviews, press conferences and of course tweets from the 45th President. They offer pertinent political commentary as well as insights into the psyche of the current commander-in-chief.
The edition I read is particularly interesting when the footnotes direct attention to the respective source for each line of the poem. The most personal and provocative work largely cites tweets but it is in the amalgamation of various sources that offer the most complex and interesting entries. In this anthology of Trumps poetry particular favorites will vary drastically on readers but the beauty of the work in each and every piece should be admired. My particular favorites include “I have the best words” (taken from a campaign rally in 2015), “Look at the way I’ve been treated lately” (graduation speech to coastguard cadets in 2017), and “I am open-minded” (Fox News Sunday, 11 December 2016).
I use both iPhone and Samsung
A great leader has to be flexible
“I am Open-minded”
What is clear is that the poetic potential of the current president has been underestimated and with this work everyone can start to remedy this travesty. It may have required the work of an editor to collect all these thoughts but the poetry aligns with what the President tweeted on 8 August 2013, “I am the best”.
Sears work really could go some way to address some criticism of the President, in his editors notes he provides a useful pathway to understand the complexity of all the poems within the book. Therefore while this will be a shorter report I will end by citing the poem he states will help readers who have a more critical approach.
“For readers who have trouble enjoying Trump’s poems because of their pre-existing views of his politics, one poem in particular, the Whitmanesque ‘You have to be everything’, is key.”
You have to be everything
I can be a killer and a nice guy
I can be very military. High rank!
I can be more presidential than anybody
You gotta say, I cover the gamut
I am pro-life
I’m a people person
I’m a king
I am a champion
I’m also very much of a germaphobe
I’m a counterpuncher
I’m President, and you’re not
I’m a person that very strongly believes in academics
I am a defender of Miley Cyrus
(Miley don’t let them get you down)
I am a handwriting analyst
I’m the world’s greatest writer of 140 character sentences
I am your voice
I am what I am
It is perhaps insane to consider that all of these things came out of the mouth of the current President. However, putting these into a poem creates a much more elaborate picture of the character behind the words. What we should now consider is how ‘I am a poet’ may enter the lines of Donald being everything.
This satirical work is incredibly well put together and well researched. Sears makes equally poignant and humorous points, some entries offer particularly important reminders of what the President has said in the past. This was an entertaining read but given its nature was also difficult to write a longer report. Regardless of political beliefs this is a profound book that offers something for everyone.
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