Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, passed 500,000 units across hardcover, audio and e-book within a month of its 23 June 2026 publication — putting it on course to be the bestselling non-fiction book of the year.
Sales figures are the easiest thing to report and among the least informative. The number underneath them is the one that tells you what kind of book this is.
A thousand interviews
The authors conducted approximately one thousand interviews across roughly two years.
That is worth sitting with. At a thousand interviews over two years, the reporting is running at more than one a day, every day, including weekends, for the entire period the book was being written. It is not a compilation of published reporting with new framing; it is a separate exercise conducted alongside daily journalism.
Why that number is the quality signal, not the sales. Political books sell on the author’s name and the subject’s prominence, and a book can reach half a million copies on very little original reporting. The interview count is the thing that separates a book with new information in it from a book with new adjectives. It also explains a documented side effect: reporting has described the White House trying to work out who spoke to the authors. That reaction only happens when the material is genuinely sourced from inside rather than assembled from the outside.
What it covers
The first year of Trump’s second presidency, reported from within the administration. The title’s framing — the imperial presidency — signals the argument: that the second term has operated with fewer internal constraints than the first.
Whether readers accept that argument is a separate matter from whether the reporting is sound, and the two get conflated constantly in reaction to books of this kind. A reader can find the reporting solid and the framing overstated, or the reverse.
Who wrote it
| Maggie Haberman | New York Times correspondent; has covered Trump closely for around a decade |
| Jonathan Swan | New York Times reporter, previously at Axios; known for long-form interviews with Trump |
The pairing matters to the sourcing. Two reporters with separate, long-established contact networks inside the same political world can reach people neither would get individually — which is part of how a thousand interviews becomes achievable at all.
What half a million in a month actually means
For context on the scale: most non-fiction titles never reach five thousand copies. A political book that reaches six figures is a major success. Half a million across formats in the first month places it in the small group of books that become events in themselves.
It also means the book’s claims will be argued over for months rather than days, and that specific passages will be extracted, contested and defended well after publication. That is the normal life cycle of a book like this, and it is usually where the substantive corrections and confirmations emerge.
How to read a book like this
- Look at the sourcing notes. Books built on anonymous interviews usually explain their rules somewhere; that section tells you how much weight each scene carries.
- Separate scene from analysis. Reconstructed conversations rest on the interviews; the interpretation around them is the authors’.
- Watch what gets denied. Specific denials of specific passages are more informative than general dismissals of the book.
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, was published on 23 June 2026 by Simon & Schuster. Reporting by Axios in July 2026 stated that the book had sold 500,000 units across hardcover, audio and e-book formats and was on track to be the bestselling non-fiction title of 2026. The figure of approximately one thousand interviews conducted over about two years, and the book’s focus on the first year of Trump’s second presidency, come from coverage and interviews with the authors carried by NPR, PBS NewsHour, CNN and Axios in June and July 2026. Reporting by Poynter described the White House seeking to establish who had spoken to the authors. This article describes the book’s publication, sourcing and sales and does not assess or endorse its conclusions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the book called?
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
When was it published?
23 June 2026, by Simon & Schuster.
How well has it sold?
It passed 500,000 units across hardcover, audio and e-book within a month of publication, and has been described as on track to be the bestselling non-fiction book of 2026.
What does it cover?
The first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency, reported from inside the administration.
How was it reported?
The authors conducted approximately one thousand interviews over roughly two years.
Who are the authors?
Two reporters who have covered Trump closely for around a decade. Maggie Haberman is a New York Times correspondent; Jonathan Swan also reports for the Times, having previously been at Axios.
