It turns out I have a difficult time reading anything about Donald Trump and the havoc he helped reap on this country. No real reflection on the writing or research of this book.

Plouffe’s book, A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump, is a thorough and systematic outline of the means by which private citizens who work outside of the political realm can get involved in ensuring that the Democratic candidate prevails in the 2020 election. While the title seems to indicate a narrow focus on defeating Donald Trump, Plouffe’s recommendations and exhortations can apply to nearly any political campaign, as he addresses messaging, creativity among campaign volunteers, driving motivation, community, strategy, funding, and other general topics.

In a sense, the title is unfortunately misleading, as the strategies and anecdotes will retain their currency beyond the 2020 election, and could apply to political campaigns beyond the national presidential contest--I wonder if this book will be read beyond President Trump’s defeat or victory in November 2020, since the title suggests a narrow focus but most of the substance will continue to remain valid.

One fault of this book is that it lacks issue-specific recommendations on messaging, nor does it deal with President Trump’s specific exploitable weaknesses nor the Democratic candidate’s specific strengths. Since, as of its writing, the Democratic candidate had yet to be determined, the last of these issues is not really avoidable, the author too often just assumes that the reader has a thorough knowledge of President Trump’s faults, and does not really outline them nor how they can be exploited in detail that goes beyond mere ad hominem generalities.

If you, as a reader, are looking for a window into the complicated machinery of a political campaign, and all of the work and effort that goes into political success, or if you are looking for inspiring stories and ways to get involved and use your talents to make a difference in our political landscape, this book is for you. If you are looking for issue-specific discussions of President Trump’s exploitable weaknesses or the Democratic candidates’ major strengths, or are an undecided voter looking to be persuaded, this book will likely not provide the knowledge nor arguments you seek.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Although Plouffe’s focus is how to defeat Donald Trump in 2020, he nevertheless provides an excellent guidebook of tactics that work (and don’t work) in presidential electioneering in today’s political arena that could be useful to campaigners of all parties at all levels who believe in a rational (rather than emotional) approach to wooing voters.

His advice, per the book’s title, is for supporters of the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in the 2020 elections, and his advice is based on successful political campaigns including those he himself has headed (and what he’s learned from those that were not so successful). His bottom-line message is to avoid negativity and instead focus on what the candidate offers in terms of benefits to individual voters, who should be approached individually, in person, not only by party operatives but also by volunteers who can connect with those they know or even go door-to-door. Additionally, a major effort should be mounted to register and motivate the otherwise non-motivated to actually vote.

His style is breezy while highly informative—so it’s easy and entertaining reading, though anti-Trump readers will obviously find it more entertaining than Trump supporters.

One drawback is the book’s lack of examples of precisely how to broach the subject and then frame and deliver one’s pitch—or, rather, a repertoire of pitches of various focuses individualized to the interests and concerns of each listener/potential voter rather than to those of the speaker/campaigner. A related unaddressed issue is how to safely approach strangers’ doors in an era of major polarization.

My thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP/Viking for providing a free Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

’m one of the people who hasasked myself what I can possibly do to make sure the Trump Administration ENDS with the 2020 election. I’ve tried to find ideas for this goal in particular as well as general ideas for ways to improve my sadness and negativity – to give me hope! David Plouffe, most known for being Barack Obama’s campaign manager has written A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump to tell individuals what we can do if we’re unable to leave our jobs or spend every waking moment on the election.

Plouffe’s message is simple: the only way change can happen is as a result of individuals TALKING to other people. The debates, campaigns, ads, and conventions are all going to happen but individual citizens need to take action. Plouffe lays out the various activities the average citizen can do and provides examples of where it’s worked in the past.

This includes ideas for how to defend against misinformation online, how to register voters and get out the vote both in primaries and the general election, and how to stay involved after the big election. It’s pragmatic, motivating guide as well as being very specific.

Full of good information, my concern is that by the time it is published in March, 2020, it will be too far down the path toward November to really get people out there. But I especially enjoyed the stories about past campaigns Plouffe has been involved with and thank Penguin Group / Viking and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for my honest review. Four stars.