Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

Donald Trump’s presidency, marked by unconventional governance and polarizing policies, created a distinct socio-political landscape in the United States. Trump’s leadership style is characterized by direct communication through social media, often bypassing traditional media channels. His tenure saw significant policy shifts, particularly in immigration, environmental regulations, and foreign affairs. Trump’s support base, known for its fervor, often views him as a disruptor of the political status quo.

In 2020, Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden but refused to concede. Instead, he claimed widespread electoral fraud, pressured government officials to overturn and obstruct the result, and mounted many legal challenges. On January 6, 2021, he called on his supporters to rally at the Capitol, a protest that became a violent assault on the Capitol and the people within and that obstructed vote counting. All subsequent legal and constitutional investigations upheld the election result and indicated that Trump’s assertion that the election was “stolen” was false. Despite this, public polling in 2023 showed that 30% of all respondents, and 61% of Republican voters, still believed Biden’s win to be illegitimate. (Kamisar, Ben. “Almost a Third of Americans Still Believe the 2020 Election Result Was Fraudulent.” NBC News, 20 June 2023).

Trump’s refusal to concede the election and the January 6 Capitol attack are seen by many in America and across the world as an assault on American democratic institutions, exacerbating deep political divisions and threatening the stability of the country’s democratic processes. Understanding this context is vital to grasp the implications of Cheney’s narrative in Oath and Honor, set against a backdrop of unprecedented political upheaval. At the time of its publication, Trump was running for the Republican presidential nomination and widely expected to be the party’s candidate in 2024. On the one hand, by 2023, Trump had continued to dominate the Republican Party and secure significantly more funding than the party itself. On the other hand, his nomination and presidential aspirations were fraught with legal investigations, charges, and convictions including for violation of the Presidential Records Act, felony counts of business fraud, conspiracy and insurrection, racketeering, contempt of court, and a civil court finding of sexual assault and defamation. Trump and his supporters have maintained that all these charges are politically motivated.