“A convincing attempt to pinpoint the methods behind Trump’s rise to power… For right-leaning readers aghast at the current state of politics, Carpenter’s book will serve as a beacon of hope.” — Publishers Weekly

“A patriot’s guide to parsing the president’s lies and disinformation.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The word ‘gaslighting’ is not yet in the Oxford English Dictionary (American or British editions) but that may change with Amanda Carpenter’s timely explanation of Donald Trump’s personification of such deviant behavior. Amanda has nicely, and concisely, cataloged Trump’s troubling conduct along with the methods employed with his endless mendacity. By comparison, and of interest to me, she finds Richard Nixon was a mere dabbler in this dark art. Suffice it to say, if you don’t understand gaslighting, you have no idea what Trump is doing—and these are not times to be uninformed. Her warnings are not those of a partisan; rather, this is a principled analysis of another horrific situation accompanying the Trump presidency. Thank you, Amanda, for putting a spotlight on it.” — John W. Dean, Author, Columnist, Commentator, and Former Nixon White House Counsel

“Carpenter, a tough veteran of GOP politics and herself a target of Trump smears, shrewdly analyzes the methods by which this unworthy president and his scummy team insert their malicious fictions into the U.S. media ecosystem.” — David Frum, author Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic

“We live in dangerous political times, when untruth on all sides seems to prevail over decency. Read Amanda’s book and get armed against the ‘gaslighting’ strategy that’s sure to dominate our politics for years to come.” — Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire and host of The Ben Shapiro Show

“Amanda Carpenter offers a forceful and compelling take on how Trump’s manipulation of the truth, aided by plentiful enablers in media and politics, fueled his political ascension and now maintains it.” — Elise Jordan, political analyst, NBC/MSNBC

“Riveting. I covered the 2016 campaign from the front row, and Carpenter still manages to surprise with her vivid, raw, and bold storytelling. Her hard-hitting analysis pulls no punches and puts a crazy year into sharp perspective.”  — S. E. Cupp, CNN host, author of Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media’s Attack on Christianity

“The hallmark of a true autocrat is the ability to harness the potency of a lie and use it to alter the citizens’ perception of what is truth. Donald Trump is a master at using the shock value of lies, spin, and disinformation to challenge the very existence of observable reality. Amanda Carpenter’s Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us brilliantly threads the needle to explain how Trump exploits the media and the voters’ emotions to weave his own presidential tapestry through a withering litany of lies. The 2020 election is coming, and in this book, Carpenter shows exactly how Trump will try to deceive, distract, and delude America again.” — Malcolm Nance, Author of The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies Tried to Steal the 2016 Election and Counterterrorism Analyst for NBC News/MSNBC

FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NEXT OUTBURST WILL BE THE ONE THAT FINALLY BRINGS HIM DOWN. IN FACT, THE EXACT OPPOSITE IS TRUE: HIS OUTRAGEOUS ANTICS AND WILD LIES ARE HIS BIGGEST STRENGTH.

This may drive you a little crazy. Amanda Carpenter says: That’s the point. Over the years, Trump has developed a winning formula that forces anyone who stands in his way into a discombobulated state of weakness and confusion.

In Gaslighting America, Carpenter breaks down Trump’s playbook, showing why it’s practically foolproof, manipulating all the major players—the Republicans, the Democrats, the media, and the victims of his method—perfectly. She traces how this tactic started with Nixon, gained traction with Bill Clinton, and exploded under Trump.

Carpenter explains that when Trump seizes control over the political narrative, he always follows the same steps. First, he stakes out political territory no one else would dare occupy, taking over the news cycle. Next, he denies responsibility while simultaneously advancing the story. His third step may be his most maddening: he creates suspense for his story by saying more information is coming soon. His fourth step is carefully selecting a detractor to attack, often finding the weakest opponent or someone who will be severely damaged by taking a roll in the mud with him. If he’s successful, and sometimes even when he’s not, he’ll proceed to the fifth step: declaring victory under any circumstance.

As a former communications staffer to Ted Cruz, Amanda Carpenter witnessed firsthand how her fellow Republicans fell 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. In this lively and thorough book, Carpenter skillfully gives Republicans and Democrats the information they need to counter President Trump’s most valuable weapon.