The New American Revolution

The Making of a Populist Movement

Kayleigh McEnany

• Publisher: Threshold Editions
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781501179709
• Topic: Politica e relazioni internazionali
• Subtopic: Partiti politici

In this essential exploration of the American heartland, Kayleigh McEnany presents an eye-opening collection of interviews and stories about the powerful grassroots populist movement of frustrated Americans left behind by the government that changed the landscape of political campaigns forever Kayleigh McEnany spent months traveling throughout the United States, conducting interviews with citizens whose powerful and moving stories were forgotten or intentionally ignored by our leaders. Through candid, one-on-one conversations, they discussed their deeply personal stories and the issues that are most important to them, such as illegal immigration, safety from terrorist attacks, and religious freedom. The New American Revolution chronicles both the losses of these grassroots voters, as well as their ultimate victory in November 2016. Kayleigh also includes interviews with key figures within President Trump's administration—including Ivanka Trump, Secretary Ben Carson, Jared Kushner, and many more—and their experiences on the road leading up to President Trump's historic win. Kayleigh's journey takes her from a family cabin in Ohio to the empty factories in Flint, Michigan, from sunny Florida to a Texas BBQ joint—and, of course, ends up at the White House.The collective grievance of the American electorate reveals a deep divide between leaders and citizens. During a time of stark political division, Kayleigh discovers a personal unity and common thread of humanity that binds us nevertheless. Through faith in God and unimaginable strength, these forgotten men and women have overcome, even when their leaders turned their heads. An insightful book about the triumph of this powerful movement, The New American Revolution is a potent testament to the importance of their message.

PART ONE

The People

On that unforgettable Tuesday night, I sat on CNN’s illuminated election set watching one of the greatest political moments in modern history take place right before my very eyes. With Van Jones and Paul Begala on one side and Jeffrey Lord and Anderson Cooper on the other, our usually chatty eight-person CNN panel remained silently transfixed on Wolf Blitzer in the center of the room, where he announced the election results as state by state trickled in for Donald Trump.

Just after 11:00 p.m., it became clear that Trump would carry the state of Florida and likely become our next president. With more than 13 million Americans watching, the CNN cameras swung to our side of the room for comment. Anderson Cooper asked me for my thoughts, and I repeated what I had often said over the past year and a half: “[The American people] want their government back. This is supposed to be a government of, by, and for the people. It’s increasingly become one of, by, and for the elite. This is the people rising up saying, ‘It’s time to listen to us’ . . . Donald Trump ran against Republicans, he ran against Democrats, he ran against the elite, he ran against the government, he ran against the media, but he was an unmistakable voice for the people.”

That, in a nutshell, explains Election 2016. Intended to be a government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” many Americans felt it had become a government despite the people. Even though the Declaration of Independence promises every American “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” these unalienable rights guaranteed to all seemed to have fallen away for so many. Lives lost, property confiscated, jobs outsourced. Whether on the left or the right, there was severe disenchantment with the Washington political class. It’s what animated the rise of outsiders like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders on both sides of the political spectrum.

The chapters that follow in Part I, “The People,” tell the stories of great American heroes, many of whom have encountered more hurt, pain, and struggle than most encounter in a lifetime. Some voted for Donald Trump. Some did not. But their hurt and their loss are reflective of the emotions that fueled a frustrated electorate. As I wrote these pages, I was often driven to tears as I reflected on the many broken hearts I had met. But as I sat across from the men and women whose life stories I am about to relate, I recognized an abounding, almost inexplicable peace. Where government might have failed them, faith filled the gap.

TWO BRIGHT LIGHTS

Terrorism

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“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

—ROMANS 8:28

On the night of July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, there was one question that Sean Copeland asked over and over again until he took his last breath on this earth: “Is Brodie OK?”

He asked “Is Brodie OK?” as he struggled to overcome his injuries and follow his son’s lifeless body into the hotel. He asked “Is Brodie OK?” as his daughter loaded Sean’s broken frame into a stranger’s car. And he asked “Is Brodie OK?” repeatedly during the doctors’ hour-long attempt to revive him.

Sean asked if Brodie, his eleven-year-old son, was OK until the moment Sean passed away. Right before Sean drew his final breath, he looked up at his daughter, Maegan, and stated with assurance, “Brodie is dead.”

I got chills as Kim shared her husband’s last words with me. Marveling at what she had managed to tell me through her tears, I said, “From all accounts I’ve read, when you die and go to heaven, the first thing you see is your family greeting you.”

“Yes,” she replied, “I think Sean saw Brodie, and Brodie was, like, ‘Daddy, come be with me.’ ” Despite having gone through unspeakable tragedy, Kim felt a peaceful assurance—assurance that her son and husband entered heaven that evening together after an act of evil cost them their earthly lives. “Sean knew he was joining his baby boy in heaven . . . I know that, and I would’ve done the same thing,” Kim said. “I would’ve been, like, ‘OK, I’m going with you.’ ”

The way Sean’s persistent question changed to certainty in an instant was truly inexplicable. Brodie’s body was more than a mile away with his mom, Kim, and his brother, Austin. Sean had no way of knowing Brodie’s status, since Maegan’s phone had died—and yet he did in that final transition from earth to heaven. Sean’s seeing his son matches the myriad near-death experiences described in popular books like Don Piper and Cecil Murphey’s 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life and Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent’s Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. In these nonfiction accounts, people who briefly died but were revived describe meeting relatives who had passed before them—just as Sean did.

Brodie and Sean. Courtesy of J. West

Sean’s parting words are a spring of hope for Kim, who lost her son and her husband in the span of an hour in Nice, France, during which the world watched and mourned together.

“Mom, I’m scared,” said Brodie Copeland, looking up at his mother with his bright blue eyes and freckle-dusted nose.

“Why are you scared?” Kim asked as she, Brodie, and the three other members of the Copeland family walked out of the Hard Rock Cafe and into a joyful beachside celebration along the spectacular palm-tree-dotted promenade of Nice, France.

“What does ISIS look like?” he inquired back.

“What do you mean? There’s no look.” It was a curious question from a characteristically carefree blond-haired boy—a boy whom they called the “Copeland Crush” because of his athletic prowess on the baseball field.

“There’s a man in there,” Brodie replied, referring to the bathroom of the Hard Rock. “He’s sitting on the floor with a backpack, and he’s digging through all of his stuff. And it made me scared, Mom. I want to know what ISIS looks like.”

When Kim had taken Brodie to the bathroom after dinner, she noticed a security guard positioned just outside of the men’s bathroom. What is going on? she thought at the time. The guard told Brodie it was safe to enter, but as any protective mom would do, Kim looked at her son and said, “Go with me to the women’s restroom.” And just as any strong-willed fifth-grade boy would reply, Brodie said, “No way! I’m not going to the girl’s bathroom!” Kim waited outside as Brodie encountered the man who had prompted his line of questioning.

“ISIS has no look,” Kim repeated to Brodie, who continued to inquire about ISIS as the Copelands prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime French fireworks show. “We’re fine. We are all together,” she gently assured her son.

“Just enjoy it,” Austin and Maegan told their younger brother.

“He was freaked out,” Kim told me. “It was so crazy. He had this intuition, and we were all, like, ‘Brodie, it’s fine.’ ” The picture-perfect Texas family had spent the whole day together on the third stop of what Kim described as their “dream vacation.” Tired of foreign cuisine, Brodie and his dad, Sean, wanted to start the evening with a good old-fashioned hamburger and french fries, which was why they had chosen the Hard Rock Cafe. Brodie had satisfied his craving for American cuisine even earlier than the rest of his family, starting his morning with a warm piece of apple pie. He had quite the healthy, boyish sweet tooth and a dazzling personality to accompany it. Born on April Fools’ Day, Kim soon realized “just how fitting that birthday was for . . . her little bundle of joy.”¹

Leaving their safe little slice of Americana that night, the Copelands continued toward the Promenade des Anglais, an eleven-mile sprawling walkway set along the azure blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It was one of the last times they would walk together as a family of five. Though night had obscured the beauty of the rocky pebble beach, the festivities—fireworks, music—nevertheless persisted as thirty thousand attendees got ready to commemorate the French national holiday of Bastille Day.

For the Copelands, the jubilant event was the next stop in their celebration-filled vacation. Austin was turning twenty-two. Kim was turning forty. And a first-ever tour of Europe seemed like the perfect idea. Sean would kick off the trip by completing one of the highest items on his bucket list: running with the bulls in the small, quaint town of Pamplona, Spain. Then it was off to the bustling beaches of Barcelona and the sparkling waters of Nice, nestled in the heart of the French Riviera. “We chose Nice for Bastille Day because we thought it would be a safer place than Paris,” Kim told me. The trip was set to end in Paris, celebrating Kim’s birthday with dinner in the Eiffel Tower. The final stop was one that the family would never make.

When the Copelands reached the rocky shores of the Mediterranean on that warm July evening, they sat atop stones that lined the beach as glistening fireworks shot up before them. Appearing to emerge straight from the ocean floor, pops of color launched from barges, filling the dead of night with shimmering strips of sparkles. But as the thousands of onlookers around Kim reveled at the majestic sight before them, Brodie’s anxious demeanor began to worry her. This was an uncommon disposition for Brodie Copeland, who usually had a smile on his face and whose lively personality never failed to get those around him laughing.²

“I was kind of a nervous wreck during the fireworks show,” Kim remembered. As the Copelands ate dinner on the second floor of the Hard Rock overlooking the promenade that evening, Kim observed armed guards dressed in camouflage with military-style berets. Brandishing machine guns, they walked up and down the street in lockstep, peering from side to side. “It was very intimidating,” she recalled. Something in Kim prompted her to take a picture of the guards on patrol. The photograph shows weapon-clad Frenchmen marching in front of a red and yellow children’s candy stand—the same candy stand where Kim’s life would forever change.

Guards whom Kim observed during dinner. Courtesy of Kim Copeland

As the Copeland family watched the elaborate fireworks display, Kim wondered, Is something going to happen? When the show ended, Kim’s nerves subsided. OK, we’re good now, she thought, seeing the throngs of revelers as a source of communal comfort.

The Bastille Day festivities were historically tranquil, family friendly, and statistically much safer than the Copeland boys’ earlier feat on vacation: running with the bulls in Pamplona. The running of the bulls takes place during the festival of Sanfermines, commemorating the martyrdom of Pamplona’s patron saint, Saint Fermín. Fences line the ancient cobblestone streets, boards shield windowed storefronts, and spectators hover over the balconies of multicolored buildings in anxious anticipation.³ Kim, Maegan, and Brodie Copeland were among the eager onlookers leaning over a balcony and waiting for Sean and Austin to charge down the street.

At 8:00 a.m., a rocket would be fired, signaling Sean and Austin along with hundreds of others to race toward an arena a half-mile away. A second rocket would sound as a pack of rowdy bulls was unleashed behind them.⁴ It is not uncommon for the raucous animals to trample runners or even gore them with their horns. Each year, fifty to one hundred runners are injured during the running of the bulls.⁵ In 2015 an American student was among the injured as cameras captured a vicious bull thrusting its sixteen-inch horns into the young male. The runner was fortunate enough to survive the violent encounter, but fifteen others have not been so lucky.⁶

Worried about the array of potential dangers—goring, a pileup, trampling—Kim woke up in tears at 2:00 a.m. the night before the run. Feeling apprehensive, she woke her husband and pleaded with him, “Please don’t do this. You’re fifty years old. I’m scared, and I don’t think it’s going to be OK.”

In his compassionate but fearless way, Sean calmed her fears. “It’s fine,” he said, “I’ve got you and three kids to take care of. I’m not going to put myself in harm’s way. Everything will be OK. I’ve lived a full life. I’m not worried about me, but I am worried about Austin.”

The next morning, before the run, Sean pulled his oldest son, Austin, into another room. “I have everything I could want in my life, but my main worry is you. You’re just twenty-two years old. You have your whole life ahead,” Sean said. “If you don’t want to do it, we won’t run. But if we decide to do it, we will do it together.”

“Dad, this is why we came to Europe,” Austin replied. “We have to do it.”

So Sean and Austin together joined the crow...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part One: The People
• Part Two: The President
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Notes
• Copyright