President Donald Trump has dismissed a new book by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan as "mostly made up, Fake News, largely fiction." The book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, portrays Trump’s second term as increasingly insulated and dominated by his personal instincts. Trump criticized Haberman on Truth Social, calling her a "third rate writer and intellect" and denying the book’s claims.
Haberman and Swan, appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, argued that Trump’s 2020 election loss allowed him to consolidate power within the Republican Party. They claimed he used the time out of office to eliminate resistance, setting the stage for an unrestrained second term. The book also details Trump’s alleged comparisons of his influence to historical figures like Mao Zedong and Napoleon Bonaparte.
The authors reported that Trump showed them a document listing his influence alongside authoritarian leaders, though they did not confirm the existence of audio recordings from high-level meetings. Trump’s team has not commented on the specific claims but has dismissed the book’s credibility.
The book also explores Trump’s focus on the 2028 election over the 2026 midterms, with Swan noting that Trump’s inner circle wishes he cared more about the midterms. Haberman and Swan emphasized that their reporting is based on extensive interviews and documentation, though they declined to confirm the existence of audio recordings.