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Regime Change, nan blockbuster book of nan first 14 months of Trump 2.0 published connected Tuesday, joining a agelong room detailing nan era pinch each sorts of bombshells.
One constituent that stands retired astir Regime Change, from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of The New York Times, is its breadth of material, arsenic they study connected conversations everyplace from nan Oval Office to nan Situation Room to a Smithsonian Board of Regents meeting.
Some of nan scenes, excerpted successful nan Times aliases reported connected elsewhere, person already drawn headlines, including nan White House’s emergency scramble to respond to nan Jeffrey Epstein backlash, and nan secret conversations that led to nan warfare pinch Iran.
Other aspects of nan book item Trump’s efforts to tame nan media, whether done lawsuits and settlements, and to alteration nan culture, pinch a takeover of nan Kennedy Center and an effort to de-woke nan Smithsonian museums. They whitethorn not person nan newsiness of nationalist security, but they are still revelatory for nan book’s wide theme: A president unshackled successful his 2nd term.
Here are immoderate of nan media and taste highlights that stood out:
As Skydance sought to bargain Paramount, Trump groused astir David Ellison, who supported Joe Biden’s reelection. Ellison, nan CEO of Paramount, precocious attended nan UFC arena astatine nan White House, and successful nan outpouring hosted a meal for nan Trump White House and CBS News.
But Haberman and Swan wrote that while Trump liked Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s begetter and 1 of his governmental donors, “he would grouse astir nan son, who had donated astir $1 cardinal to support Joe Biden’s reelection.”
That apparently has changed. After Skydance secured Trump management support to bargain Paramount past year, Trump has praised nan Ellisons, saying past October that they are “big supporters of mine. And they’ll do nan correct thing.”
Paramount precocious received Justice Department support of a overmuch larger merger prize, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Haberman and Swan besides elaborate immoderate of nan ineligible wrangling that led to CBS’s colony of Trump’s suit complete nan measurement that 60 Minutes edited an question and reply pinch Kamala Harris.
The lawsuit, which nan authors called “a preposterous claim,” was nevertheless seen arsenic impediment to Shari Redstone’s waste of Paramount to Skydance. So Trump and Paramount Global ineligible teams entered into colony talks.
While “someone successful nan president’s orbit initially floated $100 cardinal for nan settlement,” nan authors wrote, nan fig agreed to was $16 million, nan sum that ABC paid to resoluteness different Trump suit successful precocious 2024. The colony did not see an apology, but Trump later claimed that it included an further $20 cardinal successful advertizing connected CBS, thing that pre-Skydance Paramount has denied.
The authors wrote, “CBS had helped to style nan protocols, on pinch scores of different media companies from newspapers to power and TV, of what courageous publicity meant. And now it had been brought to its knees.”
Trump blew up a “framework” for a overmuch smaller colony pinch ABC and George Stephanopoulos. “The retribution run that produced nan quickest results for Trump was nan crusade against nan news media,” nan authors wrote.
That started conscionable earlier Trump returned to office, successful December, 2024, erstwhile ABC settled his defamation suit against nan web complete comments that George Stephanopoulos had made nan erstwhile March. The This Week big had said that Trump had been recovered liable by a assemblage for rape of writer E. Jean Carroll, erstwhile successful truth he was recovered liable for intersexual abuse.
ABC settled nan lawsuit for $16 cardinal — $15 cardinal to nan Trump Presidential Library, and different $1 cardinal successful ineligible fees.
The authors wrote that successful nan weeks anterior to nan settlement, location was a “framework” for a overmuch smaller sum, $3 million, expected to spell to a kindness for subject veterans. Stephanopoulos did not apologize, but he did person a gathering pinch Trump astatine Trump Tower, and “the business seemed to person been resolved.” Then, nan Trump squad wanted to alteration nan terms, pinch Boris Epshteyn, individual lawyer to Trump, pointing to a overmuch larger sum, $60 million, “if not more,” nan authors wrote. They reported that Trump yet agreed to nan $15 cardinal past “changed his mind again.” Disney balked astatine nan efforts to raise nan value and were concerned “by immoderate connected nan Trump squad to steer nan money to an defense group” aligned pinch Trump. At nan extremity of a mediation session, Trump yet agreed, and nan colony was revenge pinch nan court.
ABC has not commented connected nan book.
The White House ordered “Donald J. Trump” letters moreover earlier nan Kennedy Center committee voted to adhd his name. At slightest for now, Donald Trump‘s sanction is disconnected nan destruction of nan Kennedy Center, per a tribunal order.
Six months ago, nan Trump-controlled committee of nan halfway voted to adhd nan president’s sanction to th arts institution, moreover though Congress designated it arsenic a memorial to John F. Kennedy successful 1964, a twelvemonth aft his assassination.
At nan clip of nan renaming, Trump “feigned astonishment and humility that nan board—which he had personally selected conscionable a fewer weeks aft his 2nd inauguration and of which he was now nan chairman—would bestow specified an honor,” nan authors wrote.
In fact, nan White House “quietly ordered” nan letters to Trump’s sanction moreover earlier nan board’s vote, per nan authors. His sanction was installed connected nan destruction nan time aft nan committee vote.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), an ex officio personnel of nan board, later sued, seeking to region Trump’s sanction and to halt nan plans to adjacent nan center. Last month, a national judge mostly sided pinch her, ordering nan removal of Trump’s sanction successful relationship pinch references to nan John F. Kennedy Center for nan Performing Arts.
The halfway has revenge a tribunal declaration that nan president’s sanction has been removed, though that portion of nan destruction is still covered pinch a tarp. The Kennedy Center says that nan tarp is up to make further repairs to nan marble and soffit panels; Beatty told CNN connected Tuesday, “We are surely opinionated up against this tarp to person it besides travel down.”
Jeff Bezos told Trump The Washington Post was his worst financial investment: The thrust by tech billionaires to ingratiate themselves pinch Donald Trump arsenic he returned to nan White House was hardly subtle: At nan inauguration, figures including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai were there, opinionated down Trump arsenic he was sworn successful in nan Capitol Rotunda.
Haberman and Swan constitute that Trump relished nan spectacle of nan tech titans “kissing my ass.”
The authors besides wrote that, astatine a meal pinch Trump aft nan 2024 election, Bezos characterized nan Post arsenic his worst financial investment. The authors besides quoted Bezos arsenic saying of nan business broadside of nan Post, “The group location are terrible. They don’t listen. My different companies, they listen.”
A Post spokesperson declined to comment.
Last year, a period into Trump’s term, Bezos overhauled nan Post’s sentiment pages, truthful that they would attraction “in support and defense of 2 pillars: individual liberties and free markets.”
In February, nan Post laid disconnected 1/3 of its staff, while its CEO Will Lewis stepped down several days later.
Per nan Regime Change authors, Trump came astir to believing Bezos’ insistence that he did not person power complete nan Post’s coverage, and that nan reporters would constitute antagonistic stories astir him, too. Trump said, “I didn’t judge him nan first time, first term. And I hated him for it. And past I believed him.”
After Trump sued Rupert Murdoch, he hosted a lavish meal for nan mogul that put him connected nan spot: JD aliases Rubio for 2028? After The Wall Street Journal published a communicative connected an alleged Trump “birthday letter” to Jeffrey Epstein, nan president sued, naming not conscionable nan publication, its reporters and patient arsenic defendants, but its owner, Rupert Murdoch.
Soon aft filing, Trump’s ineligible squad sought to depose Murdoch early, citing his precocious age. Haberman and Swan wrote, “Privately, Trump had told an advisor that Murdoch’s faculties were slipping and that he would ne'er want to return nan guidelines successful tribunal against him. But Trump wanted to humiliate Murdoch arsenic payback—black oculus to achromatic eye.”
Three months later, though, Murdoch and different News Corp. editors and columnists were hosted by Trump astatine nan White House for a lavish dinner, raising immoderate concerns that nan suit would beryllium settled. But instead, nan meal was acold from an adversarial ineligible negotiation, they wrote. Trump “was strikingly deferential,” nan authors wrote, and moved done topics “like a talk show big interviewing Murdoch connected nan news of nan day.”
Among nan president’s questions to Murdoch: “What do you deliberation of JD?” The vice president, on pinch Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were astatine nan table, too.
Per nan authors, Murdoch said, “Well, I deliberation JD has nan imaginable to beryllium great.” Murdoch had reportedly tried to talk Trump retired of choosing Vance arsenic his moving mate. By contrast, erstwhile nan mobility turned to Rubio, Murdoch said he was “brilliant.” At nan dinner, they wrote, Murdoch tried to steer Trump to beryllium “more attentive to home economical issues.”
As for nan lawsuit, it is still on. After a judge dismissed nan litigation successful nan spring, Trump revenge revised litigation.
A spokesperson for Murdoch and Fox Corp. declined comment. White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not reside nan specifics of nan book’s reporting, but said successful a statement, “President Trump is committed to moving pinch each American business and business leader to cement America’s innovative dominance, reshore captious manufacturing, and accelerate economical maturation for mundane American workers. Industry leaders successful sectors ranging from autos to pharmaceuticals to exertion person committed to investing trillions successful nan United States because they cognize they person a friend and state successful nan White House.”
