Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump” ships tomorrow, June 23, 2026, offering an inside account of Trump’s second term based on more than 1,000 interviews conducted over three years. The 496-page book, published by Simon & Schuster, reveals a presidency unconstrained by the limits that defined Trump’s first term, with coverage spanning military operations, Justice Department decisions, and his administration’s approach to foreign policy.
The book covers the first year of Trump’s second presidency—what Haberman and Swan describe as “a term liberated from every constraint that defined his first.” Trump’s second-term foreign policy has been dominated by his decision to go to war with Iran alongside Israel, a move the reporters capture in detail through Oval Office meetings and private conversations with administration officials.
Haberman and Swan reveal specific moments that illustrate Trump’s governing style and preoccupations. The book recounts how Trump showed the reporters a two-page document in March 2026 arguing he was more powerful than historical figures including Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler. Trump claimed the document came from “a historian,” but the authors discovered the author was actually a golf caddy and personal confidant of golfer Gary Player. Trump later posted the document on Truth Social, describing the author as a “presidential historian.”
The reporters also document Trump’s personal involvement in Oval Office aesthetics. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt once found Trump “clutching a tube of superglue and attempting to affix gold decorations to the marble fireplace mantel” in the Oval Office, according to the book. Trump had transformed the Oval Office with gold vermeil figurines, gilded Rococo mirrors, and gold eagles on side tables after retaking office.
Haberman and Swan capture Trump’s complex relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including his initial hesitation about war with Iran. The book describes a February gathering in the White House Situation Room where Netanyahu presented Israel’s case for military action, which Trump ultimately backed. The authors also detail Trump’s skepticism toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his frustration with Vice President JD Vance over messaging on the Iran decision.
The book includes accounts of Trump’s interactions with his own Cabinet, including sharp criticism of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over tariff policy. Trump told Lutnick he had become “soft” and used profanity to express his disappointment, according to the authors. Months later, as tariff revenues came in, Lutnick quipped back, telling Trump he was “your twenty-five-billion-dollar-a-month pussy.”
Haberman and Swan describe Trump’s campaign against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which involved attempts to halt construction of the Federal Reserve building through an arcane planning commission. “I want to bust his fucking balls, honestly,” Trump said during a July staff meeting, according to the book, directing aides to bring him a plan to stop the renovation project.
The authors also document how Trump issued Justice Department investigations based on vague recollections. In one instance, Trump asked staffers to identify a “lawyer” from his administration who had said the 2020 election was fair. After staffers googled the name, Trump recognized Chris Krebs, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, and ordered an investigation into him. Krebs had been fired in November 2020 after stating the 2020 election was “the most secure in American history.”
The book draws on direct quotes that the authors explain come from the person speaking, someone who heard them directly, or from “contemporaneous notes, recordings, or transcripts.” Haberman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who joined the New York Times in 2015, previously published “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America” in 2022, which chronicled Trump’s rise and his first presidency. Her new work with Swan extends that chronicle into his second term, offering what the authors describe as a “riveting and richly textured narrative” of Trump’s presidency without institutional constraints.
Sources
- CNN — detailed reporting on book anecdotes including Trump’s comparison to historical figures, gold-gluing in Oval Office, tensions with Netanyahu, and Justice Department investigations
- Simon & Schuster — official publisher description of book scope and length
- Wikipedia — confirmation of book publication date and basic information
- The New York Times — book review and reporting on Trump’s Iran war decision and book content
