A new book titled Survival - Democracy's Struggle To Survive, written by bestselling author Elizabeth Graham and eight of the nation's leading experts on Donald Trump, asserts that Russia has been waging a covert war against the United States for decades and that Trump is a key asset in that campaign. The book, available at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Elizabeth-Graham/author/B0CMY189NT, brings together insights from Craig Unger, David Andelman, Charles Sykes, Steven Beschloss, Dr. Bandy Lee, George A. Polisner, and Mersault.
The central claim is that as the Soviet Union collapsed, Vladimir Putin and his KGB colleagues launched a deeply covert campaign to weaken the United States from within after recognizing Russia could not defeat America militarily. By the turn of the millennium, the CIA, believing the Cold War was over, shut down more than thirty overseas intelligence operations and reduced its Russian specialists by over 25%, exposing critical U.S. capabilities. Presidents Bush and Clinton, along with much of the public, no longer viewed Russia as an enemy. Yet, like a modern Trojan Horse, Russia only appeared to retreat as elite KGB/FSB operatives infiltrated American society, including the entanglement of a narcissistic American man who loved money and women more than integrity. The trap was set.
Putin's efforts to undermine democracy quietly influenced every aspect of American government, politics, and daily life. Many Americans and the media overlooked this pernicious interference, convinced that Trump is not aligned with Putin—a critical delusion held despite conclusive evidence. Craig Unger, an award-winning New York Times bestselling author and political analyst, has proved without doubt that Trump is 'owned' by Putin/Russia. Dr. Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist and editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, which accurately predicted the severity and timing of the nation's decline, is also a co-author.
Graham, who lived in Moscow during the Soviet collapse, stated, 'Few Americans have observed the sweeping changes in the United States over the past decade as closely as I have or understood their corrosive connection to the evolution of Russian politics and government since the Gorbachev era. I witnessed the disbelief of thousands of Russians. I saw ordinary citizens endure joblessness, food shortages, inadequate medical care, and unpaid pensions and salaries. These early Yeltsin years were chaotic, leaving many Russians longing for the familiar stability of communism. Putin and the KGB capitalized on this volatility with a perilous, reticent rise to power.'
Survival concludes that Ukraine and American democracy face a common enemy. The difference is that while Ukrainians endure daily bombing and death, Americans are largely uninformed or in denial. The book lists symptoms of this hidden war: a 50% jump in gas prices in one year, ten million Americans losing health care in 2026, contaminated foods, an endless war costing nearly $2 billion per day, grocery store closures and price increases up to 40%, restaurant closures including Wendy's and Village Inn, massive discrimination through ICE and the closure of USAID with 22 million preventable deaths projected by 2030, an assault on elections with sixty polling sites in Georgia receiving bomb threats traced to Russian IP addresses, and fires and bombings such as a South Carolina judge's house burning down and an explosion at a Tennessee munitions plant that killed sixteen employees.
The book's cover features a magnificent tree whose roots extend through the soil for nourishment, symbolizing that the United States must draw renewed strength from its own roots: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Survival is intended as a comparative assessment, an inspiration, and a collection of Substack messages from some of the best-known and best-informed authors of the last decade.
