Peril Quotes

“Milley believed January 6 was a planned, coordinated, synchronized attack on the very heart of American democracy, designed to overthrow the government to prevent the constitutional certification of a legitimate election won by Joe Biden.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Ryan’s main takeaway: Do not humiliate Trump in public. Humiliating a narcissist risked real danger, a frantic lashing out if he felt threatened or criticized.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Real power is—I don’t even want to use the word—fear,” Trump told us. “I bring rage out. I do bring rage out. I always have. I don’t know if that’s an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Trump was systemically attacking the courts, the press, and Congress—a vintage move by an autocrat to dismantle institutions constricting his power.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“And is there anybody in charge at the White House who was doing anything but kissing his fat butt all over this?”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Ryan’s main takeaway: Do not humiliate Trump in public. Humiliating a narcissist risked real danger, a frantic lashing out if he felt threatened or criticized. Ryan tested”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Ryan began, on his own, to research how to deal with someone who is amoral and transactional.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Fuck no!” Powell said. “I told you never to take the job. You never should have taken the job. Trump’s a fucking maniac.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Mr. President,” Miller said, piping up from one of the Oval Office couches, “they are burning America down. Antifa, Black Lives Matter, they’re burning it down. You have an insurrection on your hands. Barbarians are at the gate.” Milley spun around from his seat in front of the Resolute Desk. “Shut the fuck up, Steve.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Barr paused and delivered his summary line: “They just think you’re a fucking asshole.” Trump did not seem taken aback or insulted.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Several passengers also mentioned “6MWE.” Smith did not know what they were talking about. He was horrified to learn, listening as some passengers explained and discussed openly that it meant “6 million weren’t enough,” a reference to the 6 million Jews exterminated in Nazi concentration camps.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“To the contrary, Milley believed January 6 was a planned, coordinated, synchronized attack on the very heart of American democracy, designed to overthrow the government to prevent the constitutional certification of a legitimate election won by Joe Biden.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“You don’t understand, Mike. You can do this. I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“the vice president was a counting clerk, period.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“The machines were reliable and safe, he repeated to others as questions mounted. “They’re not connected on the internet and they tabulate the votes by taking a thumb drive, encoded to a specific machine in a specific precinct, and taking that to a central location to transfer the votes and count them.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“The Chinese thought that Trump in desperation would create a crisis, present himself as the savior, and use the gambit to win reelection.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Well,” she said, “I hope you can prevail in the insane snake pit of the Oval Office and the crazy family as well.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“She was confident and athletic, with an easy laugh,”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Biden reminded Blinken that six years ago, in 2015, when Biden was vice president, they were in the Situation Room debating whether to extend the U.S. troop commitment. Military leaders had made the case they needed to extend for another year. They said the last remaining piece to make the Afghanistan military self-sufficient and stand on its own feet was putting in place their ability to build supply lines and conduct aircraft maintenance. And that was supposed to take one year more. “That was six years ago,” Biden reminded Blinken and it still had not happened. “Six years ago!”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Here’s what I’m hearing, Mr. President,” he told Biden in a secure call that night from Brussels. It was not totally a surprise, but it was a jolt. He said he heard a blast “in quadraphonic sound,” which is surround sound. In other words, overwhelming. Blinken, a musician, had his own band, Coalition of the Willing, and played rock guitar.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Media coverage of Milley’s letter was scant, but Vox reported it was a “remarkable statement” and “it looks as though America’s top military officials won’t tolerate another thing: the attempted overthrow of American democracy by force.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Can you imagine, Obst asked, if Trump had reacted to defeat with a touch of grace and then bowed out, with an eye on 2024? “The guy would have a complete stranglehold on the Republican Party,” Obst said. “It would be completely galvanized. And the vice president would be the first to say, ‘I’m out. How do I work for you for four years, to make sure you’re president again?’ ”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Karen Pence had been working for days on goodie bags for staffers in her husband’s office, packing them with champagne flutes, honey from their beehive at the Naval Observatory, and cutting boards with the vice presidential seal. She also dropped in a print of her painting of the Naval Observatory, a nod toward her work to bring attention to art therapy, a mental health initiative she had promoted for years.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“America was so bad, so lost, one young man said, “I’m just going to move to South Korea.” South Korea? Smith thought to himself, confused. Why? The young man answered Smith’s unvoiced question, telling other passengers, “South Korea is 90 percent Christian.” In actuality, South Korea is 29 percent Christian. “You should move to Idaho,” suggested one woman. “I just don’t think they have decent seafood in Idaho,” the young man replied. Smith thought that this young man wanted a fascist takeover of the United States, but at the end of the day, if he couldn’t get decent sushi, it just might not be worth it.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Fabrizio underscored his conclusion: As we have seen many times before, it isn’t POTUS policies that cause the biggest problem, it is voters’ reactions to his temperament and behavior.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Biden’s grandson Robert “Hunter” Biden II handed him a photo taken of the two of them at his father, Beau’s, funeral. He was then nine years old, and Biden had bent down to comfort him with his hand cupping the boy’s chin. Corners of the right wing online had lit up with wild allegations about Biden’s gesture, suggesting Biden was a pedophile. The younger Biden told his grandfather he knew a campaign could be nasty.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Two days after the January 6, 2021, violent assault on the United States Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, General Mark Milley, the nation’s senior military officer and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, placed an urgent call on a top secret, back-channel line at 7:03 a.m. to his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“oath to a country, a tribe, or a religion. We take an oath to the Constitution.” He added, “Each of us will protect and defend that document, regardless of personal price.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“not take an oath to a king, or a queen,” Milley told the crowd, “to a tyrant or a dictator. We do not take an oath to an individual. No, we do not take an”
― Bob Woodward, Peril

“Pompeo said it was turning in a direction that was perilous for the republic. “We’ve got to stand shoulder to shoulder,” Pompeo said. “We’re the last of the Mohicans.”
― Bob Woodward, Peril