Quote · The Bulwark Podcast
Maggie Haberman: A Gross and Messy White House
Where this was said
Why 'Regime Change' and the Trump Transformation Thesis
At 3:32 · chapter starts 2:55
Haberman pushes back on Miller's skepticism, explaining that 'Regime Change' is not nostalgic re-reporting but an attempt to understand something genuinely new. Unlike the first term — where half the White House viewed Trump as dangerous and was actively leaking — the current administration is staffed by true believers who want Trump's agenda to succeed. The book nearly killed Haberman and Swan to report, she says, because the sources are tight-knit and secrets are kept. The core thesis: Trump has expanded and transformed the U.S. presidency to a degree not seen in our lifetimes, and the title 'Regime Change' reflects the authors' belief that America is experiencing a domestic version of the phenomenon usually reserved for foreign nations.
Losing in 2020 was the best thing that ever happened to Trump's power. He avoided post-pandemic inflation and the Afghanistan withdrawal, became a martyr figure through indictments and assassination attempts, and returned to the White House with an iron grip on his party that a consecutive second term never would have produced.
Haberman argues Trump is in a better position than he would have been with two consecutive terms — he avoided post-pandemic inflation and the Afghanistan withdrawal.
