The advance copy of former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields‘s new book, Barons of the Beltway, comes with a photocopied “Note to the Reader” that will be included in the final copies of the book, on sale June 21.
“I wrote this book to tell the story of a political class that has lost its way and lost touch with the people it is supposed to serve,” Fields writes. “But as a professional, I never intended to–and never thought I would–actually become the story myself.”
Fields then gives her account of the March 8 incident when Donald Trump‘s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, as she puts it, “grabbed me by the arm and jerked me aside.” Breitbart, Fields writes, “opted to offer only a tepid response”; she quit, she writes, because she “couldn’t work for an outlet that prized access to a particular figure over the safety of its own staff.”
Politicians, Fields writes, “are pulling a giant scam on the American people because they believe they are better than everyone else.” Trump is “running his own scam, too. He has perpetuated a campaign that actively promotes violence against people it perceives as a threat–be they protesters or journalists.”
And while the presumptive Republican nominee may not be a traditional politician, “he was still very much part of the elite system that’s been running Washington for far too long,” Fields writes. “The billionaire has been an active political donor–mostly to Democrats–for decades.” Were Trump to win the presidency, Fields writes, “he would fit in perfectly with the Beltway culture–a culture that rewards hucksters, cynics, and egomaniacs who have long ago sold their souls for a shot at power and perks.”
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
