Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era
2026 non-fiction book by Jacob Weisberg
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Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era is a 2026 nonfiction book by Jacob Weisberg, focused on the people and institutions that have supported Donald Trump and his second presidential administration.[1][2] The book's title is an homage to Profiles In Courage, a book written in the 1950s by then-Senator John F. Kennedy, focusing on 8 US senators who had made unpopular decisions.[3]
| Author | Jacob Weisberg |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
| Publication date | September 15, 2026 |
| ISBN | 979-8-217-06259-1 |
Contents
The book discusses 8 public figures Weisberg describes as "enablers" of Donald Trump. These include:
- Mitch McConnell, Republican senator from Kentucky
- John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- Brad Karp, chairman of law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States[4]
- Megyn Kelly, journalist[5]
- Jeff Bezos, Founder and former CEO of Amazon[6]
- Sian Beilock, President of Dartmouth College[3][7]
- Stephen Schwarzman, Founder and CEO of Blackstone[5]
Reception
In an opinion in The New York Times on Profiles in Cowardice, Michelle Goldberg wrote that "What has stunned me has been the capitulation of so many American elites to Trump's vulgar authoritarianism," adding "What's harder to fathom is why people who presented themselves as bulwarks against Trumpism during his first term made such degrading compromises during his second."[5] Goldberg describes Profiles in Cowardice as a companion book to Call It Evil: Understanding the Trump Era (2026) by philosopher Susan Neiman, who seeks to explain why so many institutions have caved to the Trump Administration.[5]