Trump wants to be ‘THE LAST PRESIDENT’ - Maggie Haberman
6/24/202619 min
Maggie Haberman has spent years covering Donald Trump - from his first presidential campaign to his return to the White House.
Now, in her new book Regime Change, written with Jonathan Swan, she examines how Trump has wielded power in his second term: his relationship with loyalty, his desire to shape history, and the people around him who help drive his decisions.
On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Maggie Haberman about Trump’s ambition to be remembered as one of the most powerful leaders in history, whether he is considering a third term, and what his presidency reveals about his character.
Donald Trump has frequently dismissed Haberman for writing false stories about him, which she rejects.
Is Trump changing the presidency - or trying to make the presidency about himself?
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMaggie Haberman· Guest0:00
This desire to be one of the great Man, capital G, capital M, of history is what is driving him. And power, and a willingness to use it is what is driving him. He's been something of a walking moral hazard his whole life, where he takes actions and somebody else holds the bag.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy· Host0:17
Emperors like to choose their successor. Is that what he's trying to do?
Maggie Haberman· Guest0:20
I'm not sure that he wants a successor. I think that if it was up to him, he would just be the last.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy· Host0:24
[news music] Hello, and welcome to The Forecast. Maggie Haberman occupies a unique place in the Trump story. Few reporters know him better, and few have attracted as much attention from Trump himself. Her new book with Jonathan Swan, Regime Change, reveals what's really happening inside the White House now, and how Trump has wielded power since his return. Maggie, thank you very much indeed for joining us. How surprised were you in a, a sort of a White House that seems now to be ultra-loyal to Trump, that people were prepared to talk to you?
Maggie Haberman· Guest0:58
So that's actually one of the things that, uh, was so hard about this book. It, it really nearly killed us, and again, with the, uh, acknowledgment as my colleague and co-author Jonathan Swan often says, you know, we're not in Fallujah. Uh, but, uh, we are, we are covering, uh, the US presidency. We're not, we're not covering a war. But, this White House is so much tighter, so much better at keeping secrets. They make grand displays of saying how transparent they are, that President Trump is, you know,