Why We Did It

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this gripping political memoir, former Republican political operative Tim Miller answers the question no one else has fully grappled with: Why did normal people go along with the worst of Trumpism? As one of the strategists behind the famous 2012 RNC “autopsy,” Miller conducts his own forensic study on the pungent carcass of the party he used to love, cutting into all the hubris, ambition, idiocy, desperation, and self-deception for everyone to see. In a bracingly honest reflection on both his own past work for the Republican Party and the contortions of his former peers in the GOP establishment, Miller draws a straight line between the actions of the 2000s GOP to the Republican political class's Trumpian takeover, including the horrors of January 6th. From ruminations on the mental jujitsu that allowed him as a gay man to justify becoming a hitman for homophobes, to astonishingly raw interviews with former colleagues who jumped on the Trump Train, Miller diagrams the flattering and delusional stories GOP operatives tell themselves so they can sleep at night. With a humorous touch he reveals Reince Priebus’ neediness, Sean Spicer’s desperation, Elise Stefanik and Chris Christie’s raw ambition, and his close friends’ submission to a MAGA psychosis. Why We Did It is a vital, darkly satirical warning that all the narcissistic justifications that got us to this place still thrive within the Republican party, which means they will continue to make the same mistakes and political calculations that got us here, with disastrous consequences for the future of American politics. An Insider’s Confession: Go behind the scenes with a former GOP strategist who pulls no punches in his forensic study of the party he once loved and the colleagues who jumped on the Trump train. Unflinching Self-Examination: Miller explores the mental jujitsu that allowed him, a gay man, to work as a “hitman for homophobes” and asks how he and his friends got it so wrong. The Anatomy of Complicity: Through astonishingly raw interviews and firsthand accounts, discover why operatives like Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer submitted to a MAGA psychosis. A Stark Political Warning: Learn why the narcissistic justifications that led to the horrors of January 6th still thrive within the Republican party—and what it means for the future of the nation.