It's well-known that Donald Trump doesn't read.
Admittedly, reading can be hard in the social media age of distraction and SparkNotes. Maybe if you're the president of the entire United States, you should perhaps read–but who are we to judge?
The president is the author of more than eight books and has sporadically mentioned and tweeted about a few of his favorite reads, which include Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary Clinton and Box of Butterflies, a motivational book about finding the "unexpected blessings" all around us. This list also contains many, many books about the so-called Trump "witch hunt." Most of the books merely rehash pro-Trump propaganda points, but really, they speak for themselves.
All of them come from different places—comments, speeches, Twitter endorsements—so it's not entirely apparent whether or not Trump has read these books. Either way, they provide a fascinating window into the president's mind, which seems to be some kind of echo chamber or hall of mirrors, constantly reflecting his own voice back to him.
1. Unlikeable: The Problem With Hillary, Ed Klein
Donald Trump absolutely loves this book about Hillary Clinton. Of course, he's still reading obsessively about her even years after 2016. Edward Klein is a gossip columnist-turned-New York Times Magazine editor, but he seems to have channeled his obsessions into peeling apart the Clintons, who, admittedly, are quite scandal-ridden.
▲2. The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It by Andrew F. Pudzer
Trump loves capitalism, and this book is the ultimate expression of love for both the president and the relentlessly disastrous economic system that's guiding us all towards ecological collapse.
▲3. In Trump We Trust by Ann Coulter
Can you imagine any other president proudly reading a propaganda-like proclamation of love for himself? Trump isn't like any other president, that's for certain.
Ann Coulter, far-right pundit, and longtime Clinton critic was once beloved by Trump himself, but recently she's begun to doubt him, even expressing the opinion that Bernie Sanders could actually beat Trump at his own game if the Democrats don't stupidly elect Joe Biden.
▲4. Trump: Surviving at the Top by Donald J. Trump
Trump would love his own books better than any other books. As the author of several biographies, all of which paint a glorified and largely false portrait of the president, Trump is a narcissist through and through.
▲5. Rich Women by Kim Kiyosaki
Lest anyone question Trump's opinion of women, this book proves that Trump is also interested in the voices of (rich, blonde) women. Kim Kiyosaki's book is about woman-specific investing and the importance of female financial independence.
▲6. Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everyone Else by Geoff Colvin
For someone like Trump, it's probably comforting to hear that talent and intellect and experience don't matter. What does matter? Charisma? Money? According to Geoff Colvin, it's about hard work and practiced, deliberate attention to your chosen field.
▲7. The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Revolution Reshaping American Politics by Salina Zito and Brad Todd
This book actually sounds interesting and illuminating, especially for people who still don't understand how Trump was elected. It explores the hordes of white working-class voters who pushed Trump to the forefront, and anyone looking to pick a Democratic candidate in 2020 might do well to check it out, lest we make the same mistakes as last time and assume that all voters want is someone who will return us to the status quo.
▲8. Box of Butterflies by Roma Downey
You might know Roma Downey from the TV show Touched Like An Angel, in which Downey portrays the angel. "Ever since she was a little girl, Roma has seen butterflies as a reminder of God's presence. They have appeared to her in moments when she needed encouragement and reminded her she is not alone," its description reads. Apparently, Trump loves a little self-help as much as anyone.
▲9. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
This is apparently one of Trump's favorite books, which he calls one of the "greatest books of all time." Fortunately, it's an anti-war novel about the psychological devastations of war on a World War I soldier's mind.
▲10. Radicals, Resistance, and Revenge: The Plot to Remake America by Judge Jeanine Pirro
This book explores the "radical leftist" attempt to destroy American democracy, which was saved single-handedly by Donald Trump and his army of patriots, according to Judge Jeanine Pirro.
▲11. Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters Are Breaking America by Kimberly Strassel
This book argues that people who oppose Donald Trump are destroying America. Was it not already broken? According to Kimberly Strassel, the actual evil in America comes not from, say, slavery or economic oppression or a proliferation of Neo-Nazis, but from the anti-Trump protesters taking to the streets.
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