Oct. 18, 2022: Two new books that help explain the Trump era

Two must-read books that vastly add to our understanding of the Trump era go on sale today: Rachael and Karoun Demirjian’s “Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress's Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump” ($28) and Robert Draper’s “Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost Its Mind” ($29). 

There are meaty new excerpts out from both — starting with “The Problem of Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Draper’s NYT Mag piece on the far-right Georgia congresswoman’s rise and what it means for a likely GOP House majority.

One of the most-retweeted quotes in the piece is this warning from Greene to Rep. Kevin McCarthy: “‘I think that to be the best speaker of the House and to please the base, he’s going to give me a lot of power and a lot of leeway,’ she predicted in a flat, unemotional voice. ‘And if he doesn’t, they’re going to be very unhappy about it. I think that’s the best way to read that. And that’s not in any way a threat at all. I just think that’s reality.’”

Deeper in the story, Greene gets more specific: She tells Draper she wants a seat on the high-profile House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter

Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.