The Reckoning posits that the United States has suffered trauma from its inception because of its inclusion of systemic racism and its failure to address the existence of white supremacy[a] (exemplified by the election of the author's uncle Donald Trump as president of the United States in 2016 and attempts to overturn the 2020 election).

Mary Trump discusses the COVID-19 pandemic as a more recent source of trauma and criticizes Donald's response and rhetoric as worsening the crisis.

[4][b] Mary Trump argues that much current discord in the United States is the result of its "original sin of slavery" and the persistence of racism and white supremacy, a divide that her uncle Donald has aggravated and exploited.

[2][5] The Guardian called the book "A revealing blend of family lore, history, policy and anger casts light on the background and legacy of Donald Trump.

'"[7] In The Washington Post, political commentator Joe Klein writes: "A great rant can be cathartic, but it needs discipline.