“Trump wasn’t part of anyone’s plan. For that matter, neither was I.”

I live in one of the few blue counties of a red state and nearly everyone I socialize with is left leaning with few exceptions. One of which is a woman who, despite being illegally brought to America as an infant, proudly refers to herself as a deplorable. It always confused me how someone who, despite having a uterus, could support a hate mongering Cheeto and thanks to Katy Tur I am beginning to understand.

I tend to have the first 90 minutes of The Today Show on in the background while I get ready for work (although I get the bulk of my news from online) but Katy Tur was not in the regular rotation of political corespondents before 2015. Like most people I didn’t know who Katy was prior to the Trump campaign.

If you can get past the overwhelming sense of nausea that comes from reading anything regarding Trump’s rise to the presidency I highly recommend this book. Tur became the main reporter following Trump’s campaign a bit by accident. She was living in London as a Foreign Correspondent but was back in America for a week when Trump announced his candidacy which was followed by his “[Mexican immigrants are] bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” speech.  NBC needed someone to cover it and Katy was “just standing around” so she was put on, what was assumed to be, the short assignment. Over five hundred days later, Katy stood in Trump’s victory party receiving texts from friends and colleagues who couldn’t believe she was right- Trump won the 2016 Election.

“Journalists who cover Trump without being in the room will sometimes say that Trump’s crowd isn’t with him. But I can tell you, the crowd loves it. There is no rush for the exits, no howl of disgust.”

Thanks to meticulous note taking, story archives and the memories of others Tur shares her story about living the Trump campaign. Her reporting became part of the news when Trump began calling her out and belittling her at rallies, which incited rage and violence within his supporters. Throughout it all she maintained her composure and became the leading authority on the deranged sex offender that would eventually become the president.

“The point isn’t whether or not Trump is specifically interested in hurting me or any other journalist. It’s that his comments put us in danger.”

“Not Nice” “Little Katy” lived an insane schedule that included being on TV at 7am and 7pm with an endless rotation of airports, hotels and rallies in between. Along with the other women in NBC’s first female-led political team she broke stories that included the Access Hollywood audio, denouncing war heroes, calling for a Muslim ban and a thousand others. Tur mixes a little humor and a lot of facts in this fast paced, but comprehensive, outline of her time on the front lines.

Obviously if you are still raw from the election and the day to day cluster fuck that is the current White House this is probably not the right book for you right now but whenever the wounds aren’t a fresh I suggested picking this one up.

Also, she dedicated her book For the love of God which is pretty spot on.