Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, both reporters for the New York Times, have co-authored a new book detailing the inner workings of Donald Trump’s return to power.
The book, titled “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” draws on extensive reporting from within the White House during Trump’s second term.
According to the authors, one of the most significant themes in the book is Trump’s aggressive campaign against members of the press and media organizations.
Haberman and Swan write that “the retribution campaign that produced the quickest results for Trump was the crusade against the news media,” signaling how central media suppression was to the administration’s early agenda.
The retribution push gained notable momentum beginning in December 2024, when ABC settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, marking an early victory for the president’s legal offensive against journalists.
The book also details a tense episode involving the Epstein scandal, which generated significant internal debate among senior White House officials about how best to respond publicly.
According to Haberman and Swan, Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were among those who gathered in the Situation Room to strategize over how to manage the fallout from that growing controversy.
The revelation that two of Trump’s most powerful lieutenants were directly involved in shaping the administration’s Epstein response underscores the political sensitivity surrounding the issue.
The book also sheds light on Trump’s complicated relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, a publication that has frequently published critical coverage of the president.
Trump reportedly did not believe Bezos lacked control over the Post’s editorial direction, with Bezos telling Trump directly that “the newspaper’s reporters would write negative stories about him, too.”
That exchange illustrates the broader tension between the Trump administration and the legacy press, a dynamic that the authors argue defined much of the early period of Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
“Regime Change” joins a growing list of insider accounts attempting to document how Trump and his team have consolidated power and managed political threats during his second presidency.
The book arrives at a moment of heightened interest in the inner workings of a White House that has moved aggressively on multiple political and legal fronts since Trump’s return to office.
