Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's behind-the-scenes account of President Trump's second term has moved half a million copies across all formats in its first month, putting the book on pace to become 2026's bestselling nonfiction title.
The book, titled "Regime Change," has dominated the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for three consecutive weeks and claimed the top spot in Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. It landed at number two in the UK.
Simon & Schuster has already green-lit a seventh printing, with 460,000 hardcover copies now in circulation. The sales trajectory has surprised industry observers skeptical about the market for political narratives.
"Reports of the death of the nonfiction book have been greatly exaggerated," said Matt Latimer of the Javelin agency, which represents Haberman.
The book's performance stands out in a landscape where political titles have struggled. Keith Urbahn, Latimer's co-founder at Javelin, cautioned against reading the result as a broader revival of Trump-focused publishing.
"This doesn't necessarily mean that Trump books are back. It's still uphill sledding for political books," Urbahn said. "This book is different. Maggie and Swan pierced the veil of a White House that has been pretty locked down on scoops and scenes. 'Regime Change' is a unicorn of publishing. It goes well beyond political circles to people who are hungry for a narrative and frame to make sense of Trump 2.0. Even Trump and his team aren't disputing the facts."
Just two months before the book's release, the Wall Street Journal had reported that nonfiction works focused on politics, current affairs, biographies, and history were fading from readers' hands. Audiobooks, Substack newsletters, Netflix documentaries, YouTube videos, and podcasts have fractured attention away from traditional formats.
Yet "Regime Change" has bucked that trend, suggesting that books combining reportorial access, insider detail, and narrative momentum can still capture mass audiences in an era of competing media.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is the exception that proves the rule for political publishing right now, but it shows that readers will still pay for credible, well-reported access when the moment feels urgent enough."
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