Doris Kearns Goodwin: Trolling Trump on Leadership

Doris Kearns Goodwin. Do I need to say more?

Seven books; multiple New York Times’ best sellers; Pulitzer Prize. She is simply one of our nation’s great presidential historians.

And Doris has spent much of her career studying four of the best – Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ. Now she takes a new look at all of them through a lens that – as you’ll hear – feels as much a commentary about today as it does on history. It’s titled “Leadership in Turbulent Times.”

Doris explores the early signs, growth, and active display of leadership for each of them, exploring not only the green shoots sprouting early in their lives, but also how that leadership took over during the key – if not most important – moments of their presidencies:

• Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
• Teddy Roosevelt’s handling of the Great Coal Strike of 1902
• FDR’s First Hundred Days
• LBJ and Civil Rights

 A great historian writes about yesterday, of course, but with a keen eye on today – making clear why earlier lessons, actions, and events help guide us in current times. Doris hits this one, too.

It’s impossible to read her book and not think about our current president. In fact, I asked her directly whether a book titled “Leadership in Turbulent Times” was an entire trolling of Trump himself. And she answered.