"Hustler" in the Oval
Donald Trump now occupies the White House for a second term, cementing his status as a political force defined by relentless self-promotion and boundary-pushing governance. The 46th president has transformed the presidency into a vehicle for personal and political retribution, according to Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, a new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The authors, veteran reporters, frame Trump's tenure as an extension of America's long tradition of charismatic rule-breakers. Where Barack Obama expanded executive authority through unilateral actions, Trump has weaponized it, the book argues, treating institutional guardrails as optional. This approach has yielded mixed results: aides routinely push back against extreme proposals, and GOP senators resist abolishing the filibuster despite Trump's wishes.
Chaos with a Method
Regime Change thrives on juxtapositions. The president's inner circle includes "Republican lawmakers, crypto bros, and former pro wrestlers," while Trump himself reportedly spends downtime affixing gold decorations to White House fireplaces with superglue. Yet the book's apocalyptic tone, evident in chapter titles like "Retribution" and "The Enemy Within", clashes with its depiction of a White House often paralyzed by disarray.
Key moments reveal the gap between image and reality. Trump's threat to bomb Iran, described as violating a "sacred covenant" with voters, ultimately went unfulfilled. Plans to suspend habeas corpus or invoke the Insurrection Act similarly fizzled. "The evidence is underwhelming," the authors note, when assessing claims of unchecked power.
Trump's relationship with the press remains transactional. While the book leans on anonymous sources, "people close to the president", to detail internal chaos, its very existence contradicts claims of a leak-proof administration. Even Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, appears as both confidant and intermediary for foreign regimes.
The president's second term has also seen a purge of "well-credentialed strangers" in favor of loyalists willing to endure public humiliation. Chief among them: Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Trump reportedly delights in pitting against each other during meetings that devolve into political theater.
For all its theatrics, the book underscores a durable legacy. Trump has normalized an expansive view of executive power, one that future presidents, regardless of party, will likely exploit. As one oil executive remarked during a 2025 White House meeting, "He has a better sense of his executive authority than anybody else we've ever dealt with. I would never want a Democrat to have that same sense. But this guy fucking does."