14 of the Biggest Donald Trump Bombshells From NYT Reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's New Book 'Regime Change'

A newly published book pulled back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes moments that defined the first year of Donald Trump's second presidency.

Out on June 23, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan dropped the most intriguing revelations about the POTUS and his time back in office following his victory in the 2024 presidential election. The book also shared personal and private details of Trump's life, including the president's late-night snacking habits.

"A nighttime snacker, the president would frequently leave an array of empty potato chip bags, Starbucks wrappers, and ice cream cartons in the trash, or on the floor," the authors wrote in the book. "The staff had to begin monitoring the trash after it was discovered he was sometimes throwing out White House sterling silver utensils."

It also highlighted Trump's more unusual personal habits, revealing he prefers a carpeted bathroom to deal with moisture near the shower.

"The portion nearest the shower would often be soaked through; the staff was never quite sure why, but they worried about mold growing underneath," the reporters penned. "The solution was to lay a small piece of the same carpet — never an actual bath mat — over the larger one. Several of these pieces were kept in rotation, swapped out, and dried."

According to Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, the commander in chief called his son Barron Trump by an affectionate nickname during a phone call after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot.

"Calm down, honey, calm down," Donald reportedly told his youngest son, who became increasingly worried about his father's safety.

The Apprentice alum has also occasionally referred to Barron as his "little boy," while Melania Trump allegedly calls him "little Donald."

With Donald having turned the Oval Office into a gilded palace, the reporters said the GOP leader has been deeply involved in the gold-heavy redesign of the whole White House.

In the book, Maggie and Jonathan recalled the time White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt found Trump "clutching a tube of superglue and attempting to affix gold decorations to the marble fireplace mantel."

The authors added, "As he was known to prefer his own aesthetic handiwork to anyone else's, the sight of the President squeezing glue onto gilded appliques and mounting them on the wall himself surprised no one in his inner circle."

Donald's love for gold-themed makeovers allegedly led him and his wife to maintain separate bedrooms. He has a penchant for darker shades and flashy gold décor, while Melania favors lighter tones, per Maggie and Jonathan.

The book spilled his bedroom is located on the second floor that was originally designed as a living room, and his deep involvement in decorating his own space often led him to move items from shared areas into his bedroom.

"Once, when staff gently reminded the President that he was taking things from the Center Hall his wife had personally selected, he made clear he didn't care," they added. "He seemed almost to be competing with her — determined to have the better room."

In Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, the NYT reporters recalled an April 2025 incident when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sought to persuade Donald that tariffs would not significantly disadvantage U.S. automakers.

Donald hit back, saying Howard "used to be tough" and "used to be a killer" but had gotten "weak" after coming to Washington, D.C.

"I remember when you were thirty-five, you were a killer. And now you've got your beautiful wife, and your big house, and you're just soft. And you're a p----. You know what you are? You're a p----," Donald reportedly told his longtime associate.

Even White House Communications Director Steven Cheung was given the brutal moniker "Luca Brasi," a fictional character in The Godfather. The book revealed Donald has also called him "a more violent version of Kim Jong Un" and "my sumo wrestler."

Instead of firing then-Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during his second term, Trump reportedly decided to make the central banker's tenure more difficult. As part of his plans, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought presented Trump with a plan to target Jerome over renovations to the Federal Reserve building.

During a July 2025 staff meeting, he reportedly said he wanted to "bust [Jerome's] f------ b----, honestly."

"What about that f------ building? Can we stop it? Can we stop construction. I just want to bust his f------ b----. F--- him," he continued, per Maggie and Jonathan.

While Russ said he "would look into" whether they could stop the construction, Donald allegedly replied, "No, don't look into it. Bring me a plan."

OMB General Counsel Mark Paoletta devised a plan to place Trump allies on the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees construction in the Washington area. Donald then appointed then-Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who later enlisted Will Scharf, to the board.

From there, Scharf called for a full review of the Federal Reserve renovation project.

Donald sued The Wall Street Journal, its reporters, publisher, as well as owner Rupert Murdoch after the publication published a story about the president's alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. His legal team reportedly sought to depose Rupert early due to his advanced age.

"Privately, Trump had told an advisor that Murdoch’s faculties were slipping and that he would never want to take the stand in court against him. But Trump wanted to humiliate Murdoch as payback — black eye to black eye," Maggie and Jonathan wrote in the book.

But three months later, Donald hosted Rupert and other News Corp. editors and columnists at a lavish White House dinner. During the opulent event, the nation's leader guided the conversation "like a talk show host interviewing [Rupert] on the news of the day."

He also asked what the business magnate thought of J.D. Vance, to which Rupert — per the authors — replied, "Well, I think J.D. has the potential to be great."

According to the book, Donald's plans to continually renovate the White House left Melania displeased.

"[Melania] preferred a quiet environment with minimal disturbances and objected to living in a construction zone," the book disclosed. "[She] repeatedly expressed concern about the size and location of the ballroom."

The book also claimed Melania refused to let Elon Musk stay overnight at the White House when the world's first trillionaire was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The incident reportedly took place when Donald asked Elon where he planned to stay while they were aboard Air Force One. When the SpaceX mogul revealed he had not yet made arrangements, the father-of-five invited him to spend the night at the White House.

While the FLOTUS opposed the idea, Donald still overruled her and insisted that Elon stay there.

Shortly after beginning his second term as president of the United States, Donald issued sweeping pardons to nearly all of the rioters involved in the U.S. Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.

"During the transition, he informally polled his advisors: Blanket pardon or just a couple of people? The answers would vary, but most were deferential to his view," Regime Change revealed. "Finally, on the first afternoon of his second term, Trump said: F--- it. Let's release them all."

Donald and his staff had "serious conversations" about inviting January 6 rioters to the White House during his first week in office. However, he changed his mind after recognizing how controversial or politically damaging it might appear to the public.

Charlie Kirk shocked the public when he criticized the Trump administration over its handling of the Epstein files. According to the reporters, Donald was "very unhappy" about the remarks that he called the Turning Point USA founder.

"Kirk had held a Turning Point USA event the previous day that had turned into a complete Epstein grievance fest, with one speaker after another taking shots at [then-Attorney General Pam] Bondi over her handling of the Epstein situation," Maggie and Jonathan wrote in the book. "Trump had called Kirk and scolded him."

In Regime Change, the reporters claimed executive assistant Natalie Harp left "adoring letters" in Donald's "personal spaces," including a note that read, "You are all that matters to me."

The note apparently left White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles confused, per the book.

At one point, Donald reportedly said of his loyal aide, "All of you will go off and make money. She'll never leave me."

Donald has reportedly been pushing to build what would be the world's largest arch — a 250-foot-tall structure recreating the pose he struck following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.

"Privately, he had also been asking confidants what he should have on top of the arch. Should it be, he mused, a large replica of his 'fight, fight, fight!' fist?" the authors wrote in the book.

If erected, the proposed arch would eclipse the 200-foot-tall Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea, currently the world's tallest triumphal arch.