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You're Hired!: Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President
Donald J. Trump had essentially zero experience running for office and his candidacy for President of the United States was opposed by many in both parties that dominate American politics. Nevertheless, in 2016 the American people told him “You’re hired!”. As an insider, scholar, and Chief Economist of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, Casey Mulligan presents riveting first-hand accounts of President Trump’s engagement with policy and politics. The struggle between Trump and a ruling class is skillfully presented by revealing business practices that President Trump is using to dismantle and reshape the Federal administrative state. It proves that today’s populism has some real substance, but also acknowledges Trump’s political incorrectness. You’re Hired! brilliantly details the administration’s successes and failures alongside the scandals, and accurately portrays the approach and capabilities of our President and our government. You will feel like an insider as you learn how Trump handles auto companies, Senator Bernie Sanders, immigration, international aid, the 2016 election, Twitter, and more that the news media has often failed to report or explain. Rigorous evidence is detailed on assertions that the White House staff is in perpetual chaos which is directly attributable to the President. A fascinating comparison of the similarities and differences between Presidents Reagan and Trump is presented along with topics including Obamacare, Putin, the opioid epidemic, and tariffs. This book highlights the great divides created by the President and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) supporters being on one side and a small, unelected, and insulated class who have years of experience running, and reporting on the Federal government being on the other side. Anyone wanting to understand, emulate, or oppose President Trump’s “populist” methods will be enthralled by accurate first-hand accounts of how he engages with policy and politics.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 3, 2020
45 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 1, 2020
As a (moderately) proud Democrat, I loved this book. I bought it initially because I'd heard it painted Trump in a more positive light without resorting to idiocy, so I thought it would be a good thing to console me if he won re-election. I read anyway and found the book to be two things:
1. One of the most refreshing, intelligent takes on Trump I have read. Now, it was deliberately NOT a comprehensive analysis. It was limited, technocratic, economically conservative, and wonkish. The author could not credibly assess "presidential greatness" or "political ethics" etc etc. Instead it was a sober (at times argumentative) review of the author's personal experience CEA, meaning it focused on economic policymaking of the Trump regime. Many of the author's interpretations of Trump himself were, however, original (at least to me), and as far as devil's advocate arguments go (and I think this devil may be incarnate), I appreciated some of the author's points:
- NY Times et alia basically refused to cover some of the Trump administration's technocratic successes, and certainly covered them far more negatively or skeptically than they did Obama's
- Trump's budgetary approach to regulation might have had a positive effect of creating an environment of "resource constraint" in the government. The gov, unlike businesses, often looks at ROI only, says "positive = do" and thereby forgets the big picture of selecting complementary / the most positive programs, rather than all programs measured in isolation.
- Trump had some notable successes eg. lowering prescription drug prices via encouraging more competitive generic markets / less onerous FDA regs
- Trump's public and administrative focus on combating the opioid crisis deserves some praise. So does his challenge to China on IP
2. It is incredible to me how much news is written about politics, and how little is written about the federal administrative state. What is written is often superficial or one-sided. This book was a great book specifically about US federal regulation: how it is made, and what effects it has. For anybody interested in this subject, it's a great inside story that touches on regulation of auto industry, healthcare, environment, transport. Our administrative state (especially when you factor in its many layers) is unbelievably big. Most regulations -- both those promulgated by Dems and those by Reps -- generally do not help the little guy! They do not! They usually serve primarily to benefit specific business interests. They are properly understood as restrictions on internal trade, and most of them are NOT about polar bears, or workplace harassment, or other noble causes.
After 2009, many of my gen decided that "more regulation is good" and blamed the Recession on inadequate fin reg. (I always felt that "simpler regulation" would a be sufficient request.) If it weren't for this book's rather idiotic title (Trump hagiography, or Job Market Self-Help?), I think it could convince a few people to think a bit more critically.
PS a couple of my favorite sections of the book were
(1) the take-down of the wasteful, egregious Jones Act (which has received bipartisan support for decades, zero policymakers sincerely believe to be a good law, and Trump briefly tried to sort of waive in 2019 but conceding the point);
(2) analysis of why the Obamacare mandate was unpopular and why the law seemed to survive the mandate's repeal
(3) comparison of Trump vs. Reagan records on trade. Mostly he showed that Reagan was far less of a free trader in practice, due to domestic political pressure, than he was in his rhetoric
May 22, 2023
This is an odd book from an important thinker. One doesn't get many Trump administration tell-alls that come off as admiring, and even fewer positive looks inside that Oval Office from non-politicos who don't have an axe to grind. But Casey Mulligan is a dyed-in-the-wool academic, from the University of Chicago, who turned down a similar spot on George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisors because he was against foreign adventurism and privatizing social security. He's no political shill, yet it's clear from this book he really admires Trump. To my mind, this often came across as too much, like when he compares watching Donald Trump to watching Barry Sanders play football as someone at the peak of his game, or when he compares Trump's intuitive understanding of economics to Marconi's intuitive discovery of wireless radio without knowing the science, but it's clear that Mulligan enjoyed his time in the White House.
Admittedly, Mulligan was part of, or helped trumpet, some of the unalloyed conservative successes in that administration. His CEA report demonstrated that Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's deregulation of generics led to the first decline in prescription drug prices in 46 years (he also described how his analysis led, after substantial vetting, into a "spontaneous" Trump tweet, that Trump soon exaggerated to "over 50 years" with the hope that the news media would fact-check the story and thus further spread the overwhelmingly positive news.) He helped in rolling back the Obama administration's CAFE standards for cars and changed them into rules that cost 1/4 as much, and thus saved about $4,000 per family. He worked with Brian Blase to deregulate short-term health plans (STLDHI), Association Health Plans for small businesses, and Health Reimbursement Accounts. His CEA report on how the 2013 Holder Memo and 2003 Medicare Part D plans exacerbated the opioid crisis became a touchstone for public discussion. Inside the White House, though, Mulligan's bipartisan blame game came up against one of the few villains in the book (besides Peter Navarro, whom everybody hated) and that's HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who helped implement Part D in the Bush administration and thus was opposed to any findings questioning it. Azar also tried to push a "rebate rule" banning "kickbacks" from drug companies to insurance plans, until Mulligan, Joe Grogan and others showed how it would raise costs for taxpayers and consumers while benefiting drug companies.
My favorite parts of the book were about how he kept Medicare for All's Section 107 in his pocket at all times to keep reminding people that it did indeed ban private health insurance, and how his "TheoryGuru" program allowed him to enter economic claims, such as Paul Krugman's, and receive concrete answers about logical fallacies and reasoning. On the whole, whatever one thinks of the particular arguments about Trump or deregulation, this is an important window into that administration and into economic policymaking in modern America.
Admittedly, Mulligan was part of, or helped trumpet, some of the unalloyed conservative successes in that administration. His CEA report demonstrated that Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's deregulation of generics led to the first decline in prescription drug prices in 46 years (he also described how his analysis led, after substantial vetting, into a "spontaneous" Trump tweet, that Trump soon exaggerated to "over 50 years" with the hope that the news media would fact-check the story and thus further spread the overwhelmingly positive news.) He helped in rolling back the Obama administration's CAFE standards for cars and changed them into rules that cost 1/4 as much, and thus saved about $4,000 per family. He worked with Brian Blase to deregulate short-term health plans (STLDHI), Association Health Plans for small businesses, and Health Reimbursement Accounts. His CEA report on how the 2013 Holder Memo and 2003 Medicare Part D plans exacerbated the opioid crisis became a touchstone for public discussion. Inside the White House, though, Mulligan's bipartisan blame game came up against one of the few villains in the book (besides Peter Navarro, whom everybody hated) and that's HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who helped implement Part D in the Bush administration and thus was opposed to any findings questioning it. Azar also tried to push a "rebate rule" banning "kickbacks" from drug companies to insurance plans, until Mulligan, Joe Grogan and others showed how it would raise costs for taxpayers and consumers while benefiting drug companies.
My favorite parts of the book were about how he kept Medicare for All's Section 107 in his pocket at all times to keep reminding people that it did indeed ban private health insurance, and how his "TheoryGuru" program allowed him to enter economic claims, such as Paul Krugman's, and receive concrete answers about logical fallacies and reasoning. On the whole, whatever one thinks of the particular arguments about Trump or deregulation, this is an important window into that administration and into economic policymaking in modern America.
November 22, 2020
An interesting take on Trump
The common picture of Donald Trump is that of an uninformed and ignorant narcissistic President. He makes policy on the hoof without either reading or understanding his briefs, he doesn’t consult his subordinates and his Administration is chaotic. His tweets and pronouncements are at best parodies of truth.
There is an alternative view: this is that of a well-read and well-prepared President. He knows what he wishes to accomplish, and uses whatever instruments necessary to accomplish these aims. More to the point, he understands the issues and is not afraid to take advice where he doesn’t. Finally, it is a pleasure to work for him in a smoothly functioning Administration.
The latter picture is the one painted in this book by Casey B Mulligan who worked in President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors. True or not is up to each reader to decide. But given that the overwhelming picture of Donald Trump is the negative one, it is right to read the alternative view and then try to make up your mind.
The common picture of Donald Trump is that of an uninformed and ignorant narcissistic President. He makes policy on the hoof without either reading or understanding his briefs, he doesn’t consult his subordinates and his Administration is chaotic. His tweets and pronouncements are at best parodies of truth.
There is an alternative view: this is that of a well-read and well-prepared President. He knows what he wishes to accomplish, and uses whatever instruments necessary to accomplish these aims. More to the point, he understands the issues and is not afraid to take advice where he doesn’t. Finally, it is a pleasure to work for him in a smoothly functioning Administration.
The latter picture is the one painted in this book by Casey B Mulligan who worked in President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors. True or not is up to each reader to decide. But given that the overwhelming picture of Donald Trump is the negative one, it is right to read the alternative view and then try to make up your mind.
December 16, 2020
The author is not a born writer and the style got a little overbearing towards the end, but that said the book did not overstay it's welcome. Basically, a good summation of why Donald Trump was not, in fact, a bad President.
September 24, 2020
The book is a quick interesting read of Mulligan's time in the White House. Every chapter tells a different story about a policy action taken or not taken. Author keeps the economics jargon to a minimum and gives the reader insight into how the Council of Economic Advisors(CEA) worked in the Trump Administration. Best of all Mulligan provides context for different CEA reports and supplies the reader with insight into big regulatory proposals such as car emissions and the rebate rule.
August 25, 2021
The Trump administration was punctuated by a string of “explosive” books — mostly composed of unsourced tittle-tattle — which were published, “exploded,” and disappeared. You’re Hired! Untold Successes and Failures of a Populist President by Chicago University Economist Casey B. Mulligan, who served as chief economist of President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) from September 2018 to August 2019, is, thus, a rare thing: a serious book about the Trump presidency.
Mulligan gives an insider’s view of how the administration made economic policy. That policy was successful. It might be hard to remember now, among the economic ravages of COVID-19, but President Trump’s boastfulness about the American economy under his watch had some justification.
Remember how, the day after Trump’s election, economist turned columnist Paul Krugman said: “…[W]e are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.” But when the Census Bureau’s “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019” report was released, it showed that median household income was $68,703, up 6.8 percent from 2018, to reach the highest level, adjusted for inflation, since the bureau began measuring it this way in 1967. The official poverty rate was down 1.3 percentage points from 2018 — that’s 4.2 million fewer Americans living in poverty — to reach 10.5 percent, its lowest level on record.
True, these numbers continued trends which began under President Obama’s administration and credit should be given where it is due. But some trends ticked up when Trump took office. The Census Bureau numbers show that in his first three years in office median incomes for all households rose by more than $6,000. And these gains were widely shared. Black Americans saw their incomes rise by $3,389 under the Trump administration, Hispanics by $5,322, women by $3,029. Every group saw a larger income gain in three years under Trump than in the 16 years under George W. Bush and Barack Obama ($3,000). This explains why a September 2020 Gallup survey found that 56 percent of registered voters believed they were better off then than four years before. They actually were.
Indeed, when COVID-19 hit, the American economy fared comparatively well. OECD data show that, from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020, real GDP fell by 10.1 percent in the United States compared with 11.5 percent in Germany, 13.4 percent in Canada, and 15.1 percent for the eurozone. This is a testament to the underlying strength of the American economy.
Key sources of this strength were the Trump administration’s tax cuts and deregulation. The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act pre-dates Mulligan’s time in the CEA so it gets relatively little coverage here, though Mulligan speaks very positively of the act. Mulligan’s focus is on deregulation, particularly in health care. Regulation is the economic policy arm most often ignored, perhaps because it cannot be as easily quantified as fiscal and monetary policy, so this discussion is particularly interesting.
It wasn’t all good, of course. President Trump’s trade war with China imposed costs on the American economy which offset some of the positive impact of fiscal and regulatory policy. Like most economists, Mulligan opposed these policies, but he goes too far in looking for a secret sense hidden behind them. A look at Trump’s statements, going back to his criticisms of Japan in the 1980s, shows that he isn’t just pretending to be a mercantilist. He actually is.
President Trump’s style, too, could impose economic costs. Major policy changes were sometimes announced on Twitter, seemingly with little prior consultation. This policy uncertainty also acted as a headwind to growth. Here too, I think, Mulligan goes too far in exculpating President Trump. His characterization of the president’s use of Twitter as the crafty utilization of a massive focus group stretches credibility. Indeed, it is something of a paradox that, despite his ceaseless tweeting, President Trump’s supporters — his real audience — were the sort of people least likely to be reached using social media.
If the economy does well we credit the president. If it does badly we blame him. In truth, the control of presidents over economic outcomes is less complete than we — or they — would like to think. Presidents can do a lot of harm with misguided policy, but, on the positive side, they often do best when they do least. As time progresses and the heat hopefully dissipates from the debate regarding the Trump administration, we will get analysis that accounts for this nuance. Mulligan’s book will be a valuable part of that.
Mulligan gives an insider’s view of how the administration made economic policy. That policy was successful. It might be hard to remember now, among the economic ravages of COVID-19, but President Trump’s boastfulness about the American economy under his watch had some justification.
Remember how, the day after Trump’s election, economist turned columnist Paul Krugman said: “…[W]e are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.” But when the Census Bureau’s “Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019” report was released, it showed that median household income was $68,703, up 6.8 percent from 2018, to reach the highest level, adjusted for inflation, since the bureau began measuring it this way in 1967. The official poverty rate was down 1.3 percentage points from 2018 — that’s 4.2 million fewer Americans living in poverty — to reach 10.5 percent, its lowest level on record.
True, these numbers continued trends which began under President Obama’s administration and credit should be given where it is due. But some trends ticked up when Trump took office. The Census Bureau numbers show that in his first three years in office median incomes for all households rose by more than $6,000. And these gains were widely shared. Black Americans saw their incomes rise by $3,389 under the Trump administration, Hispanics by $5,322, women by $3,029. Every group saw a larger income gain in three years under Trump than in the 16 years under George W. Bush and Barack Obama ($3,000). This explains why a September 2020 Gallup survey found that 56 percent of registered voters believed they were better off then than four years before. They actually were.
Indeed, when COVID-19 hit, the American economy fared comparatively well. OECD data show that, from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020, real GDP fell by 10.1 percent in the United States compared with 11.5 percent in Germany, 13.4 percent in Canada, and 15.1 percent for the eurozone. This is a testament to the underlying strength of the American economy.
Key sources of this strength were the Trump administration’s tax cuts and deregulation. The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act pre-dates Mulligan’s time in the CEA so it gets relatively little coverage here, though Mulligan speaks very positively of the act. Mulligan’s focus is on deregulation, particularly in health care. Regulation is the economic policy arm most often ignored, perhaps because it cannot be as easily quantified as fiscal and monetary policy, so this discussion is particularly interesting.
It wasn’t all good, of course. President Trump’s trade war with China imposed costs on the American economy which offset some of the positive impact of fiscal and regulatory policy. Like most economists, Mulligan opposed these policies, but he goes too far in looking for a secret sense hidden behind them. A look at Trump’s statements, going back to his criticisms of Japan in the 1980s, shows that he isn’t just pretending to be a mercantilist. He actually is.
President Trump’s style, too, could impose economic costs. Major policy changes were sometimes announced on Twitter, seemingly with little prior consultation. This policy uncertainty also acted as a headwind to growth. Here too, I think, Mulligan goes too far in exculpating President Trump. His characterization of the president’s use of Twitter as the crafty utilization of a massive focus group stretches credibility. Indeed, it is something of a paradox that, despite his ceaseless tweeting, President Trump’s supporters — his real audience — were the sort of people least likely to be reached using social media.
If the economy does well we credit the president. If it does badly we blame him. In truth, the control of presidents over economic outcomes is less complete than we — or they — would like to think. Presidents can do a lot of harm with misguided policy, but, on the positive side, they often do best when they do least. As time progresses and the heat hopefully dissipates from the debate regarding the Trump administration, we will get analysis that accounts for this nuance. Mulligan’s book will be a valuable part of that.
November 30, 2020
Mulligan does a great job of explaining the insider’s view of the Trump White House, which I experienced much of this as well.
His work on the benefits of the Trump agenda of tax cuts and deregulation are essential to the prosperity supported across the board and in reducing income and wealth inequality before COVID.
There is also a great point about the diversity of ideas within the White House and the use by Trump of Twitter to poll the electorate while getting the media fired up, it’s quite genius in many ways and will be interesting to see if others use it the same way.
Overall, I recommend this book from political, policy, and economic perspective as I also highly respect the work of Mulligan.
His work on the benefits of the Trump agenda of tax cuts and deregulation are essential to the prosperity supported across the board and in reducing income and wealth inequality before COVID.
There is also a great point about the diversity of ideas within the White House and the use by Trump of Twitter to poll the electorate while getting the media fired up, it’s quite genius in many ways and will be interesting to see if others use it the same way.
Overall, I recommend this book from political, policy, and economic perspective as I also highly respect the work of Mulligan.
November 2, 2020
It is difficult to look past how Mulligan justifies not only Trump's economic policies, but also Trump's style of government. That said, he provides a fascinating insight into the work of economists in government and some of the criticism of the media's response to Trump hits home.
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