Liar's Circus: A Strange and Terrifying Journey into the Upside-Down World of Trump's MAGA Rallies

Carl Hoffman, chronicling his experiences attending President Trump's political rallies in Liar's Circus: A Strange and Terrifying Journey into the Upside-Down World of Trump's MAGA Rallies, isn't subtle about their impact. "A Trump rally is a sensual assault that hijacks your soul," he says. Hoffman, an award-winning journalist (The Last Wild Men of Borneo), embeds himself with Trump's fervent followers in this eye-opening diary of stadium shows and bizarre personalities.

Some of Trump's most rabid fans follow his MAGA ("Make America Great Again") rallies like Deadheads used to follow the Grateful Dead. "I realized Trump was a preacher and this was a fundamentalist revival," he concludes after one frenetic event. Hoffman, who never hides his journalism credentials, is an affable skeptic who finds most rally-goers welcoming and eager to convince him that Trump is "heaven-sent." He puts into context quotes from MAGA-goers and Trump himself with observations from sociologists and historians, noting, for example, the similarity between cultural identity rituals in remote communities half a world away and MAGA rallies "where the identity of the hundreds of thousands who participated in them was solidified, confirmed." Hoffman, while pointing out that many MAGA-goers cling to racist and xenophobic outlooks, reserves blame for "Trump and the people around him... who were lying to them and misleading them."

Liar's Circus is an illuminating and weirdly entertaining addition to the slew of books currently in print about President Trump, offering a well-documented, personal look at the people who placed him in power. --Cindy Pauldine, bookseller, the river's end bookstore, Oswego, N.Y.

Powered by: Xtenit