David Frum in conversation with Larry Wilmore, LA

@LiveTalksLA

Affair: David Frum in conversation with Larry Wilmore

When: Thursday, February 1, 2018 @ 8PM

Hot Spot: Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre, New Roads School, Herb Alpert Educational Village, 3131 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA

Deets: David Frum is a senior editor at the Atlantic and the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller The Right Man. From 2001 to 2002, he served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. Read his articles in the Atlantic.

No conservative has been a more astute, unsparing or courageous critic of Trumpism than David Frum. Trumpocracy is a powerful summation of the case against Trump based on a close reading of his first year in office. Even those who have followed the Trump administration closely will find much to surprise and enrage them in Frum’s devastating analysis.A must-read to understand what we went through in 2017–and where we are going next. — Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow in national security studies, Council on Foreign Relations

“Fascism did not rise in the 30’s because it was strong but rather because Democracy was weak. David Frum has written an essential book for a time when the pillars and norms of American Democracy are under threat from the leaders pledged to preserve it.” — Stephen Schmidt, strategist for George W. Bush, John Mccain, and Arnold Schwarzenegger

“An outstanding chronicle of the unending corruption, deceit, and chaos that acts as rocket fuel for the administration, and ego, of President Donald J. Trump. This is a brilliant book of a frightening American present, it is also an honest discussion of the gifts a Trump Presidency has unwittingly revealed.” — Malcolm Nance, author of The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and Wikileaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election

Bestselling author, former White House speechwriter, and Atlantic columnist and media commentator David Frum explains why President Trump has undermined our most important institutions in ways even the most critical media has missed, in this thoughtful and hard-hitting book that is a warning for democracy and America’s future.

“From Russia to South Africa, from Turkey to the Philippines, from Venezuela to Hungary, authoritarian leaders have smashed restraints on their power. Media freedom and judicial independence have eroded. The right to vote remains, but the right to have one’s vote counted fairly may not. Until the US presidential election of 2016, the global decline of democracy seemed a concern for other peoples in other lands. . . . That complacent optimism has been upended by the political rise of Donald Trump. The crisis is upon Americans, here and now.”

Quietly, steadily, Trump and his administration are damaging the tenets and accepted practices of American democracy, perhaps irrevocably. As he and his family enrich themselves, the presidency itself falls into the hands of the generals and financiers who surround him.

While much of the country has been focused on Russia, David Frum has been collecting the lies, obfuscations, and flagrant disregard for the traditional limits placed on the office of the presidency. In Trumpocracy, he documents how Trump and his administration are steadily damaging the tenets and accepted practices of American democracy. During his own White House tenure as George W. Bush’s speechwriter, Frum witnessed the ways the presidency is limited not by law but by tradition, propriety, and public outcry, all now weakened. Whether the Trump presidency lasts two, four, or eight more years, he has changed the nature of the office for the worse, and likely for decades.

In this powerful and eye-opening book, Frum makes clear that the hard work of recovery starts at home. Trumpocracy outlines how Trump could push America toward illiberalism, what the consequences could be for our nation and our everyday lives, and what we can do to prevent it.

Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer Podcast Network. The show features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond.

Wilmore is perhaps best known for his role as host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, which debuted in January 2015 and ran for nearly two years. Off-screen, Wilmore serves as co-creator and consulting producer on HBO’s Insecure, a half-hour comedy series starring Issa Rae that details the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman. Wilmore also helped to launch ABC’s Black-ish as an executive producer.

Previously, Wilmore made memorable appearances as the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and hosted his own Showtime “town hall”-style comedy specials, Larry Wilmore’s Race, Religion & Sex. He has written for In Living Color, The PJ’s (which he co-created), The Office (on which he has appeared as Mr. Brown, the diversity consultant), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also served as creator, writer, and executive producer of The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him a 2002 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” and a 2001 Peabody Award.

In April 2016, Wilmore hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC. He is the author of I’d Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts (2000).

Who You May Spot: David Frum, Larry Wilmore

Hint For The Average Socialite: Tickets are available for purchase.

What's Trending: @davidfrum @larrywilmore @LiveTalksLA