By any unbiased measure, Cliff Branch is an astute observer of American politics and culture. He’s also an entertaining and lucid writer who scored a hit with 2015’s American Made: A Boomer’s Reflection—something of an oddball mashup of writing genres that inexplicably coalesces into a soul-bearing examination of a life well lived, missteps and all.
In it, he chronicles his Leave it to Beaver 1950s upbringing where the irascible kid is somewhere between the Beaver and Eddie Haskell. The memoir continues into the ’60s and ’70s and his early entrepreneurial endeavors including a head shop, hot tubs, and home stereos.
It’s also worth mentioning that Branch’s first book, written under the pen name David Britt, was The All-American Cocaine Story, about his early drug addiction and how he overcame it. He attended Cal Poly at risk of being drafted into Vietnam, he experienced the counterculture protests and the free love era, and he came out the other side a successful businessman, real estate tycoon, and developer.
Now he’s followed up with American Made: 2016-2026 A National in Turmoil, in which he examines the last decade’s changes to American culture, from the advent of smartphones, social media, AI, the 24/7 new cycle, two Trump presidencies, and other events, people, and trends that have reshaped the U.S.
“I just wrote this is a response to seeing the change,” he explained during a recent interview in his downtown SLO office. “I was just motivated. I was raised to speak up, and I think that if anyone looks at the book, they can tell I’m not exactly thrilled with the current situation.”
That said, Branch is not a partisan or ideologue. He and his writing come across as reasonable and measured. His hope is that the new book will cover a “greatest hits” of impactful moments over the past decade.
“There’s enough divisiveness out there already,” he said. “I didn’t see any reason to call names. I refer to him as ‘President Trump,’ but it’s not all about Trump. There’s a lot in there about my reflections on how fast our society has changed. I am bothered that we have a leader that is so meanspirited and so divisive and is on the news every day, essentially saying things that further divide our nation into two camps.
“I’m not really in either camp, particularly. I voted for both Republicans and Democrats. But I just try and vote for somebody that I think will do the best job.”
Branch’s business success has been largely due to his marketing acumen, and as a keen observer of business trends, he’s studied Trump for decades.
“I followed him closely from his days with Fred, his father, and through the Central Park Five. He was always in the business news, whether it was Fortune or Forbes or The Wall Street Journal because he was so controversial as a developer,” Branch noted. “I just never imagined he’d be president of the United States after decades of watching him, and particularly after the Hollywood video and the troubles he’s had with the women in the lawsuits against him.
“I don’t know anybody that I can think of who’s been involved in literally 4,000 lawsuits, a lot of which he pursued himself. I was just motivated to sit down and write. If nothing else, it was a bit of therapy, but it’s also just about growing older and feeling like the world’s passed me by a bit.”
Branch will turn 77 near the end of the year, and to read A Boomer’s Reflection, you get the idea that he’s lived many different lives over his nearly eight decades. The end of that book digs into observations of politics, but A Nation in Turmoil digs deeper. He forecast the power of Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and Fox News before many other observers.
“When I saw Rupert Murdoch and what he’d done with tabloids, I understood what an unbelievably good marketer he was,” Branch explained. “He came to the United States, looked at the market, and said, ‘Oh, you’ve got ABC, NBC, CBS, you’ve got them all fighting over 22 percent of the market.’ He sensed that there was 30 percent of the nation, 35 percent maybe, but a huge segment, that he could just devote himself to. And then he’d have the largest part of the market.
“I said, ‘This is going to change our culture. It’s going to change how we get our news. It’s going to have a huge impact on politics,’” Branch continued. “At that time, people were thinking I was overzealous in my assessment, but I just saw this thing coming.”
Branch’s prediction was spot-on, and, of course, the problem is many viewers take Fox News as factual.
“Fox News is an entertainment channel,” Branch said. “They have no semblance to traditional journalism. They claim they do, but they just don’t. So, I just figured I’d encourage whoever wanted to listen—I’m probably just howling at the moon—but to involve themselves in politics. If anybody reads this book, hopefully they’ll vote or become a little more involved in the facts. Maybe the pendulum will shift.”
Branch doesn’t care who people vote for, but he hopes they’ll be guided by reason, care for fellow citizens, basic human rights, and factual evidence—not disinformation, alternative “facts,” and spin. He actually likes some of Trump’s policies and believes Democrats went too far with Biden’s open border policy and became too “woke” with the trans issue and some DEI policies
“My Democratic friends, they’re livid. They think Trump is a crook and a con man and they’re just angry. They just can’t stomach the guy,” Branch explained. “Those who’ve read the book were like, ‘Cliff, you’re being too mild here.’ My Republican friends were, ‘Wow, Cliff, you’re just a bit naive. You don’t understand. He’s a man’s man and he’s doing what no other president has done.’
“The one thing about Trump, I think nobody could argue, is he doesn’t tell the truth. He’s not attached to facts.”
Branch has already gotten a good response, mailing out hundreds of copies on his own dime. He’s only charging $19 for both books to cover shipping and handling. He simply hopes people will read and make their own assessment.
“I don’t know if it’ll get any attention or not, and if it does, fine, and if it doesn’t, you know, I did my job.” ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in July 23-30, 2026.
