Synopses & Reviews
A vivid political history of the schemes, plots, maneuvers, and conspiracies that have attempted — successfully and not — to remove unwanted presidents.
To limit executive power, the founding fathers created fixed presidential terms of four years, giving voters regular opportunities to remove their leaders. Even so, Americans have often resorted to more dramatic paths to disempower the chief executive. The American presidency has seen it all, from rejecting a sitting president's renomination bid and undermining their authority in office to the more drastic methods of impeachment, and, most brutal of all, assassination.
How to Get Rid of a President showcases the political dark arts in action: a stew of election dramas, national tragedies, and presidential departures mixed with party intrigue, personal betrayal, and backroom shenanigans. This briskly paced, darkly humorous voyage proves that while the pomp and circumstance of presidential elections might draw more attention, the way that presidents are removed teaches us much more about our political order.
Review
"The temptation to impeach a president can run high in a polarized
political environment but is fraught with peril as David Priess meticulously
demonstrates in this timely book that romps through American history to answer
all the questions about removing an unfit president by non-electoral means that
you were afraid to ask." Amanda Carpenter, CNN contributor and author of Gaslighting America
Review
"With the objective eye of a former intelligence officer and an uncanny
instinct for deep truths, David Priess paints a genuinely non-partisan portrait
of presidential removals. The stories here are eerily relevant to today's
headlines, but also disarmingly fun to read." Michael Hayden, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and author of The Assault on Intelligence
Review
"Legal scholars, political scientists, and pundits have dissected various
means of undermining and removing leaders, ranging from voting them out of
office to impeaching them. Now, with How To Get Rid of a President, David
Priess finally racks and stacks all of the methods, fair and foul, in an
entertaining and approachable sweep of history." Benjamin Wittes, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and editor in chief of the Lawfare blog
Review
"Getting rid of presidents was never as entertaining as it is in David
Priess's hands. He barnstorms through more than two centuries of American
history, showing all the ways-from impeachment to death-that presidents have
either left office prematurely or just barely avoided doing so. Dramatic and
instructive, his narrative has clear resonance for the present day as calls
grow for President Trump's impeachment." Max Boot, Washington Post columnist and author of The Corrosion of Conservatism
Synopsis
A vivid political history of the schemes, plots, maneuvers, and conspiracies that have attempted -- successfully and not -- to remove unwanted presidents To limit executive power, the founding fathers created fixed presidential terms of four years, giving voters regular opportunities to remove their leaders. Even so, Americans have often resorted to more dramatic paths to disempower the chief executive. The American presidency has seen it all, from rejecting a sitting president's renomination bid and undermining their authority in office to the more drastic methods of impeachment, and, most brutal of all, assassination.
How to Get Rid of a President showcases the political dark arts in action: a stew of election dramas, national tragedies, and presidential departures mixed with party intrigue, personal betrayal, and backroom shenanigans. This briskly paced, darkly humorous voyage proves that while the pomp and circumstance of presidential elections might draw more attention, the way that presidents are removed teaches us much more about our political order.
About the Author
David Priess is a writer and speaker on the presidency, national security, and intelligence and a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute of George Mason University. He served in the U.S. Government during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, both at the CIA as an intelligence officer, manager, and daily intelligence briefer as well as at the State Department as a desk officer in the Near East Bureau. His role as daily intelligence briefer to FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General John Ashcroft involved presenting the highlights of the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) and other intelligence materials each morning. For his 2016 book The President’s Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America’s Presidents, Dr. Priess became the first author to interview for one book every living former President, Vice President, and CIA Director from previous administrations. His analysis and commentary has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, Politico, War on the Rocks,The Cipher Brief, Skeptic, andThe Houston Chronicle. He has appeared as a national security and intelligence commentator on multiple CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, and BBC programs. He obtained his BA in political science from Illinois Wesleyan University, his MA in political science from Duke University, and his PhD in political science from Duke University and has taught political science classes at Duke University, George Mason University, and the George Washington University.