Donald Trump is unquestionably the most unique and charismatic figure in American politics in a generation. Yet despite his familiarity on the public stage, he remains an enigmatic, mysterious figure. Not since Lincoln has a man drawn such intensely opposite responses, of love and hate, and even in Lincoln’s case the intensity was over the issue of slavery. With Trump, the intensity is over the man.

How can the same man inspire such radically opposite reactions, to the point that there are some who would take a bullet for him, and others who celebrate the would-be assassin who actually attempted to take his life? This is the Trump enigma.

Then there are Republicans and moderates who seek to sidestep the enigma of Trump the man by saying, “I don’t like him, but I like his policies.” Yet if Trump’s critics are right that he is an aspiring tyrant, a dictator, something akin to Hitler circa 1933, it is the man—not the policies—that matter most.

In an original, searching examination, bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza considers the issue of tyranny in Vindicating Trump by asking key questions:

Is Trump a tyrant, and would his election a second time imperil democracy and our constitutional system of government?

If not—if he didn’t do anything tyrannical in his term in office—then why do his critics say that about him?

If Trump isn’t the one imposing a tyrannical regime, then who is? D’Souza makes the startling argument that Trump’s critics accuse him of being a dictator—a Caesar—because Trump does possess the colossal dimensions of a Caesar. He could be a tyrant, if he wanted to. But he doesn’t want to. Rather, he wants to use his immense charisma and power to mobilize the American people against the forces of tyranny and repression, coming from the Democrats and from the Left.

This book—and the accompanying film in theaters this fall—is an unqualified defense and vindication of Trump. It makes the case for Trump “as is,” the man as well as the policies. It will rally and inspire Trump supporters and at the same time convince Americans who are ambivalent about Trump that he is the right “wartime general” for the perilous times we face in this country.