Donald Trump called the book fake.

He called it boring.

He attacked one of its authors as a “third-rate writer,” mocked her name and insisted that nearly everything inside its pages had been invented.

Then Americans rushed out and bought it.

A tell-all chronicling Trump’s second presidency has surged past 500,000 copies in less than a month, placing it on track to become the bestselling nonfiction book of 2026—and raising the possibility that the president’s own late-night attacks may have helped transform it into a publishing phenomenon.

Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, written by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, has dominated the nonfiction bestseller list for three consecutive weeks since its June 23 release, according to Axios.

Demand has reportedly been so intense that publisher Simon & Schuster ordered a seventh printing, bringing the number of hardcover copies in circulation to approximately 460,000.

The publisher had already rushed an additional 150,000 copies into production on publication day.

What was supposed to be another book Trump could dismiss as hostile media has instead become a cultural event.

Keith Urbahn, Haberman’s literary agent, called it “a unicorn of publishing,” pointing to its unusual reach beyond the narrow world of political readers.

The book reportedly draws on more than 1,000 interviews with people close to Trump, creating an intimate and often unflattering portrait of life inside his second administration.

Its most viral revelations are not always about war, policy or presidential power.

They are about the private habits Trump appears most determined to keep out of public view.

The authors describe an aging president with irregular sleeping patterns, late-night eating habits and hearing difficulties. They report that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump maintain separate bedrooms and that aides have privately remarked that the president “seemed old.”

According to the book, staff members noticed him becoming drowsy in the afternoon and observed bruising on his hands, which Trump reportedly attributed to taking large amounts of aspirin.

None of those reported observations establishes a medical diagnosis. But together, they create a portrait sharply at odds with the tireless, physically dominant image Trump attempts to project.

The book also describes him as an “inveterate hoarder.”

According to Haberman and Swan, Trump converted Jared Kushner’s former West Wing office into a storage space filled with memorabilia and personal items.

The detail evokes a president surrounded not only by advisers and political documents, but by physical reminders of victories, relationships and moments he appears unwilling to discard.

Other scenes are almost cinematic.

At an October 2025 dinner, the authors report, Trump informally placed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio into a competition over who might be more popular in a future 2028 presidential race.

Rupert Murdoch was reportedly present as Trump turned succession politics into a personal contest unfolding around the dinner table.

But the revelation that apparently enraged Trump most was far less grand.

The carpeted bathroom.

The book reports that Trump prefers carpet in his bathroom—a choice that allegedly caused staff members to worry about moisture and mold.

A senior administration appointee later told Zeteo that Trump was furious the detail had been published because it made him appear “so f—— gross.”

That private irritation quickly became one of the book’s most discussed moments.

The episode illustrates why such details can become politically damaging even when they have nothing to do with legislation or national security.

Trump has spent decades constructing an image based on gold, polished marble, immaculate luxury and personal control.

A carpeted bathroom associated with dampness and mold punctures that image in a single unforgettable visual.

It makes the imperial presidency seem less like a palace and more like an aging private residence filled with eccentric habits no staff member feels empowered to challenge.

Trump responded in the manner that has become familiar throughout his political career.

He attacked the messenger.

In a late-night Truth Social post, the president described the book as “mostly made up,” “Fake News” and “largely fiction.”

He singled out Haberman, calling her “Magot Haberman” and dismissing her intelligence and writing ability.

Curiously, he did not direct the same attack at Swan, her male co-author.

The insult generated headlines, social-media posts and renewed curiosity about the book’s contents.

For a publication already selling rapidly, Trump’s rage functioned like an enormous free advertising campaign.

Each denunciation reminded supporters and critics that the book existed.

Each claim that it was fabricated encouraged readers to see what had provoked such an intense reaction.

Each personal attack reinforced the impression that the reporting had reached a sensitive point.

The strategy appears to have backfired spectacularly.

The more Trump insisted the book was unimportant, the more important it became.

The more he called it boring, the faster it sold.

The more he attempted to humiliate Haberman, the more attention readers paid to her reporting.

Urbahn noted that even members of Trump’s own team had not publicly dismantled the book’s central factual claims.

That does not mean every anecdote should be accepted without scrutiny. Tell-all books often rely on anonymous sources, recollections and accounts from people with personal or political motives.

But the scale of the interviews and the absence of detailed point-by-point rebuttals have helped the authors present the work as deeply sourced rather than merely sensational.

Swan responded directly to Trump’s accusation that the book was “90% fake news.”

Rather than trading insults, he offered the president an opportunity.

Trump could sit for an on-camera interview at any time, Swan wrote.

The invitation placed the burden back on the president.

If the book is overwhelmingly false, he could challenge its authors publicly, confront their evidence and provide his own version of events.

So far, Trump’s most visible response has been anger.

That anger may now be driving sales toward a historic level.

More than half a million copies have already been purchased across hardcover, audio and digital editions.

A seventh printing is underway.

The book remains at the top of national bestseller lists.

And the president who tried to dismiss it has become its most effective promoter.

Trump wanted Americans to believe the book was beneath their attention.

Instead, his fury made millions wonder what was hidden inside.

Now the portrait he tried to bury is roaring off shelves—and every attack appears to sell another copy.