WASHINGTON — Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan collaborated on a book titled "Regime Change," which chronicles the first year of Donald Trump's second term in the White House. The book details a plan developed with Benjamin Netanyahu to topple the Iranian regime.

Four months ago, Netanyahu visited the White House Situation Room and persuaded Trump to join a plan aimed at ending Iran's nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu assured Trump they would end these ambitions before Iran had a chance to close the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told Netanyahu, "Sounds good to me."

Other officials reacted to the proposal with dismissive terms. The Secretary of State called the plan "bullshit." The C.I.A. director described it as "farcical."

Haberman and Swan contend that Trump ran for president in 2024 for one reason above all: "This was about staying out of prison." Trump also said in an interview with Haberman and Swan that he was pleased to learn from an unnamed historian that he was more powerful than historical figures like Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, or Joseph Stalin. The historian cited was Gary Player's caddy.

Haberman, who joined The New York Times in 2015, published a book in 2022 titled "Confidence Man," which is about Donald Trump. In it, she wrote, "He has had only a handful of moves throughout his entire adult life." Haberman listed these moves as the "quick lie," the "shift of blame," the "outburst of rage," the abuse of loyalists, a "raft of old grievances," and a "refusal to be shamed."

An aide named Natalie Harp follows Trump and provides him with positive press from right-wing outlets, occasionally sending him adoring letters. When Elon Musk criticized Trump over his budget bill, Trump called Musk twice but received voice mail both times. Trump remarked, "They always leave me. They always do this. This is why I can't have friends." During Trump's hush-money trial in New York, a mentally ill man set himself on fire in a nearby park. Trump later asked an aide, "Do you think he did it for me?" He also stated, "Let's tell people that he did it for me."