Two New York Times journalists shed light on the inner workings of the White House in a new book. Entertaining details also come to light.
June 24, 2026, 11:31 amJune 24, 2026, 11:31 am
A new book about Donald Trump takes a deep look.Image: keystone
A book by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan was published in the USA on Tuesday. In 500 pages, the New York Times reporters describe in “Regime Change” how uncontrolled Donald Trump has been in office since taking office in January 2025.
The most important – and bizarre – revelations about the US president.
He snapped at Vance about the Iran war
The president’s fixation on foreign policy is also controversial internally. In long passages, the authors describe how Trump’s deputy JD Vance was skeptical about military strikes against Iran. He is said to have said that Trump needs to pay more attention to the everyday concerns of Americans.
The president, in turn, wanted nothing to do with such advice. “I know what I’m doing,” Trump is said to have snapped at the younger vice president. This wasn’t an isolated case. Even his high-ranking advisers – the authors name Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – are said not to have informed Trump about his plans before the start of the Iran war in February.
He intervenes in the successor race
Trump also appears to be dissatisfied with his designated successor in other ways. The book authors report on a dinner with Rupert Murdoch, at which Trump directly asked the media baron about his preference in the 2028 presidential election. “I think JD has the potential to do great things,” Murdoch is said to have replied. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, on the other hand, is brilliant.
Trump also seems to favor Rubio. Haberman and Swan asked him in the Oval Office if he wasn’t worried that his successor would lose the opulent decorations. “The Cubans love gold,” Trump is said to have replied. Rubio’s parents are from Cuba.
Authors Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.Image: Doug Mills / NYT
He asks Macron for advice
Trump seems to be in his element when he can pursue his passion and act as a builder. The authors report on a telephone conversation with Emmanuel Macron in which Trump questioned France’s president about the Arc de Triomphe.
Trump wanted to know whether the Paris building he wanted to copy in Washington had an observation deck. “Yes,” replied Macron. To which Trump asked: “Should we also have an observation deck? Could it be dangerous? People throw bottles and shit like that there, right?” Macron’s answer is not known.
He likes chips and ice cream
The book offers new insights into the president’s private life. The authors say he is hard of hearing and constantly tired. However, Trump has not changed his approach. In the private rooms of the White House, staff often find empty chip bags or ice cream wrappers – traces of nighttime snack attacks.
He insists on carpet in the bathroom
Trump didn’t just redecorate the Oval Office. His private rooms on the upper floor of the White House now also look different. So the 80-year-old insisted that carpet be installed in his personal bathroom. This was once fashionable when Trump was young. Today, however, carpet is frowned upon for practical reasons.
Trump doesn’t care. But his servants were worried about mold because the president, for some unknown reason, always flooded half the bathroom when he showered. So they installed an additional mat that had the same pattern as the carpet but could be dried if necessary.
He wants to be praised constantly
The American president is convinced that he is a historical figure. He enthusiastically reported to the two journalists about an occasion when a historian allegedly mentioned him in the same breath as Attila, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler and Mao. The historian is said to have said that the power of these rulers and mass criminals was regionally limited, while Trump now controls the entire planet.
It later turns out: The Trump fan was not a historian. But the caddy of the South African golfer Gary Player. Trump wasn’t bothered by the man’s lack of tools. He was simply happy that he wasn’t the only person who realized that he could turn the whole world upside down. (schweiztoday.ch)