This chapter is the first in a series of four that together comprise Part III of The Enablers, “Trump’s Team.” This final part of the book focuses on key individuals, each of them named, who were the most prominent and important of Trump’s enablers. As the title of this chapter suggests, it focuses first on Vice President Pence, who played a critical part in the president’s enablement. Then it proceeds to the four members of the president’s cabinet who during the period under discussion were the most involved with the administration’s management of the pandemic, and to the president himself. The four cabinet members are: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Attorney General William Barr, and Secretary of Heath and Human Services Alex Azar.

The chapter is a careful chronicle - specifically of what happened between January and June 2020, after the new coronavirus was introduced into the United States. The narrative proceeds on roughly a month by month basis – it is intended to provide readers with precise reminders of what happened when, and of who did what when. The progression of the disease – Covid-19 – is in stark evidence. This against the backdrop of an administration that prefers to deny what actually is happening, that opts to address the economic crisis without first addressing the health crisis, and that gradually ensnares a large cast of characters in a wide web of deception and destruction.

Trump did not have an “inner circle” as this term is conventionally understood. That is, he was a lifelong loner, so did not have personal, professional, or political intimates. He did, however, of course, have some people around him to whom he was, relatively, close, most of whom stayed for the duration of his administration. Trump’s inner circle is divided into three groups: 1) outer ring: 2) middle ring; and 3) inner ring. In the outer ring were people such as longtime immigration maven Stephen Miller, as well as Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway. In the middle ring are key players such as Vice President Mike Pence and Don Jr. And in the inner ring are Trump’s well-loved daughter, Ivanka, and her indispensable advisor-husband, Jared Kushner. The First Lady, Melania Trump, is separately discussed.