Kayleigh mcenany thanks for being here. Talking a little bit about you and your background how you came to write this book. A lot of the viewers may know me from cnn we have done those channels throughout the election but i really came from a small town in florida if you eat strawberries it is the strawberry capital. Good chance they come from plant city and for me to write a book of how i see this selection in the prism that i grew up in not the confines of cnn or washington but through the prism of a small town girl and the movement that i recognized early on when i endorsed President Trump to be the president and three months after he declared his candidacy for my colleagues recognized that movement as well but they recognize that from the left wing. So there are a few people in the book who make appearances and van jones was part of the Obama Administration with a lot of conservatives at one point thought of him as the boogie man what was your experience with him at cnn . I was included in that i saw him as a radical leftwing and put your opponents on the other end of the camera so to identify with the right or the left it is easy to some of your counterpart that when i came to know van jones as a person i was taken aback and so surprised i remember my first night before i took the stage during the primaries i was receiving criticism you get a lot of trolls and angry viewers in one of those said takeoff may cause because it wasnt deserving to wear that so van jones did not know about that comment i did not even know him at the time and as i rounded the corner nervously for my first panel i heard a voice rang out said kayleigh i love your cross. Those were the first words he said to me and i came to know him that night and throughout election 2016 as a person and friend and mentor that shattered the idea of the other side whether bernie or hillary or trump. He is not the only liberal commentator who has been kind to you and has mentor due one of the other people is the late alan combs. What did he mean to you . I always joke they really helped me throughout my career even though i am very right wings conservative individual that when i was an intern on the set they were wonderful to me but he really kept up with me during my time at cnn and almost brings tears to my eyes that with his radio show and would watch me on cnn i knew he got the message is not that he kept me on during the radio show he would say kayleigh remember dont fight fire with fire but fight fire with water but it reminded me of the heat of the moment to be calm and take a breath see them the point of view intellectually and not three motions her anger. Talk about the new American Revolution book so for those who have not read it what is the broad theme of the book . That is a great question i use the word populace conservatively and liberals have expressed aversion and i wanted to profile people on the left and on the right so it was capturing the sentiment of that electorate that we have seen in my lifetime and in modern history for those issues of terrorism to flint michigan. If you live inside the beltway how far . That would the people to have this revolution. So to profile a lot of different american and this would be a good explainer to help people get why this moment happened. Right. You mentioned billy in the amazon profile for my book really the only piece of work that i can point to that tried to describe the moment in history and the people that made that happen but that group of voters were profiled in West Virginia but those factory bluecollar workers but i wanted to take a broader look so i sat down at my desk and wrote down the issues i think determined the election like the virginia wages and i tried to pay her individuals with the issues and looking at the country and in South Carolina and those that were on the veterans waitlist and the heart of their decisionmaking. But just in terms of the process of writing a book like this simultaneously timeconsuming and emotionally draining because most of the stories have happy endings the people persevering went through hard times of every Single Person that you interviewed so talk about the time and the process. That is a great question because you and i know in the world of political punditry with 1 million things going on at once there is a panel to be a part of it is easy to get caught up in the monotony of political discussions so for me to leave the confines of new york and easy to talk to the people i didnt know what i would find. It seems like something you have to do that when i went to their homes and sat and watched with the family who lost their Police Officer said and i saw their tears and their 7yearold daughter running around the house with a little puppy in her arms, and he died when that act of criminality but when i saw them in a realized she came to know her father through the words on this page so it was very personal and emotional but also uplifting that they overcame their darkest hour. That is what is rewarding about being a book author even opposed to a tv commentator because i guess books can move on but when you write something in a book that is bound, there is a legacy to that that can be passed down to document a moment in time so there is a profound responsibility writing about people and their loved one. Thats right. That is how i saw it with the responsibility with the legacies of these individuals especially the first four chapters of families that lost loved ones i see it as a personal sacred duty who they were so we do so much on cable news with the perpetrators of the terrorist attack and the gun man but what about the victims or the husbands who does and push the boy out of the way . That is the opening chapter of my book to say sean and brody were as that refrigerator truck barrels through the crowd but do we know the story of those who rose to the occasion with those amazing acts of heroism . And share their story. Another theme with that is police so you have one story about a Police Officer killed not even in the line of duty but offduty it seems like there were several examples of Law Enforcement in this book. Was that important to you . Coming back to the larger theme or the trend that was happening in donald trump selection . Absolutely. In the boston globe where harold said one of the biggest reasons that trump election were the men in blue who showed up absolutely they were driving force Law Enforcement always had a very special place in my heart because they see them as domestic heroes so is important to talk about Justin Winebrenner and he rose to the occasion and left behind a little daughter and fiance. But i have another chapter about my time at Harvard Law School talking about the importance to be aware of the criminal and legal Justice System and ultimately solving the policing issue with lack lives matter and having a conversation to realize most Police Officers are good people to rise to the occasion but also from the other side there are issues that need to be resolved. Also you discovered the liberal bias in academia that a thing helped to drive donald trump selection. Along with other stories like the veteran scandal. So i do think if you were to read this book especially saying if you didnt know anybody who voted for nixon if you were in that camp to help you understand what was happening that would make you frustrated or angry around america that you were insulated from as a fairly prosperous life . What is actually healthcare. Right. I open up about my story of how little bit in the book. I plan to those words carefully because it is hard to tell your own story but i have 84 chance of chance of Breast Cancer in my lifetime so at ten years ago when i was 22 years old i talk about how scared it was when they should he have been worried about boys or finding a job i was worried about getting Breast Cancer. Survival set it up by saying this dovetails a larger story about someone else who is really struggling with navigating obamacare. Thats right. That they were going through major Health Problems spending hours trying to get it straightened out. The unexpected waterfall of tears poured down my face, pretending the magnitude. 84 chance 4 chance of getting Breast Cancer in my lifetime. I cavalierly had taken brca2 genetic mutation test not expecting to hear positive results days later error the torrent of emotions to accompany it as i move forward i face final step in my journey of a double mastectomy. It has to be difficult to write about this was that tough . Do you hope that maybe you could help others out there . Definitely as per important to personalize it i talked about in the political context there are so many competing factors and for me i told my story because i want to create Awareness Among women to find out you have this gene you can do preventative measures so it will be tough but i make no columns about that but a decision that i need to make but to create awareness talk about preexisting conditions one of the great things obamacare didnt do was provide protection that were not there with preexisting conditions like myself and other americans so as a republican i feel you are demonized for not caring about this group of people but they do care i do care about the population. Donald trump was different than a lot of conservatives because he pretty much always said keep the preexisting conditions and repeal and replace that keep preexisting conditions clause. Exactly. One of his republican opponents said that to him on the debate stage they were so taken aback and that was one of the many reasons. You cite to brave women who have come to this before like your mom who had the courage to get a double mastectomy before was popular and strong women like Angelina Jolie who publicly announced her decision. Thats right. I remember my mom getting this she didnt have Breast Cancer but had a tumor removed which is very emotional and she did this before Angelina Jolie i was asleep and my mom called me to say get a copy of the New York Times that they opened it up and i saw she had gone public so for women across the country one of the top killers of women that was an empowering moment because she made something that many women felt ostracized and i thank her for having the courage to do that. One of the common themes is donald trump not everybody profile voted for donald trump but reading this book definitely gives insight for trump to win the nomination but even more common is faith from the terrorist attack or because the Veterans Administration did not give them treatment or whatever but it seems like every person comforted them to give them meaning to persevere. And to be clear i set out to find men and women who embody the issues of our time so there could be temporary hope and a leader but ultimate hope and a savior and it was important to profile the community which i found unwittingly and i stumbled upon in the darkest hour of life god got them through with amazing of the divine outreach at the time they were at their lowest. Interestingly a couple of other things i noticed in the book were what might be thought of as musical or spiritual and one of them was a premonition to the different people profiled before something before a major life event happened to a loved one. Thats right. One of them was the 11yearold boy who lost his life in the terrorist attack and was in the bathroom right before it happened about an hour and a half in his mother didnt want him to go in watching armed guards when she went to the bathroom she noticed a guard standing there that i will go with you and he said no. I will go he is 11 years old and comes out and says what does isis look like and asked for the next hour and a half. Because he had seen somebody in the mens bathroom with a backpack open looking suspicious. Going to his belongings and these terrorist actually sent a picture that day to his brother for those activities whether he was actually there that day before the attack she isnt sure but if that was the attacker but he certainly had a premonition something was coming and then died when the illegal immigrant made a lefthand turn somebody that was deported and then took his life and she said her body collapsed inexplicably in a parking lot the very time her son lost his life she said mime body knew but my mind didnt so there is the overwhelming theme of people that knew something was coming or approaching. Speaking of religion this is about the veteran story. But i will read this part first but tell us about very little bit first and his struggle. Berry is an amazing american the face of the scandal when cnn broke the scandal with that great investigative reporting on the struggles many veterans who could not get access to care and the face of that was very he testified before congress and went for a colonoscopy was waited more than a year could not get one with egregious symptoms but his stool and there were telltale signs of colon cancer but as he languished on the waitlist and during his time as approaching death he took it upon himself to share his faith with others and he had an incredible way to approach that. Host in the month before he was bedridden he would roam around the backyard praying the words lord if this burden is meant for me to carry you let me carry it he would say you set my feet on the path that you have for me to walk then dont let me strike. It is reminiscent of the prayer of jesus christ in the garden the night before crucifixion. My father fit as possible to be taken from me but not as i will but as you will. Exactly right. That is the faith that inspired me into sit across from the wife who described her husband to be a person of faith when most person are cursing or upset with god or angry at government he has a faith this is the path that god gave me into have that faith so it doesnt matter who our leader is have amazing individuals who in their darkest hour they have their faith to see them through. Host talked about being in the bubble i kept thinking i think i would go to the outside doctor but in fact one of the other stories about healthcare one of the people that you profile goes outside the system and pays a lot of money and i think the area some point was advise you have to pay to go see a doctor but of course these are people who served our country and may not have the ability financially. This is the system they are in it could cost them their lives. Exactly right she said financially when her husband died they did not have a supply of cash and her mom said we are just good country people who dont have those resources to provide for her daughter so yes some people dont have those resources for those that live in a bubble of political commentary it was eyeopening to see american. Host but to imagine your child needing treatment or surgery and then the person or the doctor say make an appointment one year from now. That would be so infuriating. It is understandable why people were infuriated. Especially those of us who have chosen to sacrifice our lives or imperil our lives by fighting overseas and the one responsibility of government is to take care of them when they come home and he was not protected and that was a motivating factor for donna that he had an opportunity to confront president obama about it and for her that was an emotional moment to confront their leaders and she did. I think if you look at the book in the context this explains the phenomenon the grassroots populist phenomenon of donald trump then very clearly you get through these issues and examples to make the case this is why trump wanted but as an immigrant in this country 30 years as an upstanding citizen with kids and married without being deported you could have written a book about that maybe with different implications so how do you answer for people that say you are cherry picking examples that buttress your political point . There are several that dont for example like flint michigan he was disenchanted with all government i did not vote trump or anyone because i have lost faith in our leaders and i would argue with that chapter of why that election happens was my chapter where there was one carrier worker who was a hillary supporter the other was a trump supporter but it was so emblematic of the electorate that i would talk about that there was angst in both parties on the left and the right one and a common problem is the forgotten man and woman and that chapter is emblematic of that with those factory workers to play cards with one another every day united in betrayal is what i say. But there are examples in the book, and here those that dont here to my viewpoint but at what gets to the heart of the book. One of the people say i dont want additional people who voted for Bernie Sanders but i dont know Single Person that voted Hillary Clinton. Maybe those union bosses but that actual rank and file i dont know Single Person. In the primary come exactly that of course the leadership of most of those unions endorsed Hillary Clinton most of the Bernie Sanders factory workers reluctantly showed up and that was a motivating factor of those disenchanted democrats stayed home as much as the Trump Supporters rank and file. Host we talked about the spiritual premonition that people had before the terrorist attack or a loved one died. Also there is that the divine outreach where after somebody lost a loved one, something miraculous would come to them to bring them comfort to make that is the most important theme. You could be very sad you could have literal tears on the pages but i want nothing uplifting to be burdened with the sadness drive away that sense of hope and one of those stories of kim when her husband pushed brody out of the way as a truck was coming brodys boat broken body was picked up by her stepson running back to the hotel then shawn didnt know if he lived or died in the struggling to keep up fully behind them they get to the hospital and apparently the whole way there he asked is brody okay . Unaware if he saved