Scoop: "Regime Change" sells 500,000 — on track for nonfiction bestseller of '26

"Regime Change," the juicy exposé on President Trump's second term by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, has passed the publishing milestone of 500,000 units sold (hardcover, audio, e-book) in just one month.

• Publishing sources tell me the blockbuster is on track to be the bestselling nonfiction book of 2026. Simon & Schuster has ordered a seventh printing, bringing the total hardcovers in print to 460,000.
• "Reports of the death of the nonfiction book have been greatly exaggerated," said Matt Latimer of the Javelin agency, which represents Haberman.

But this is a rare feat. "This doesn't necessarily mean that Trump books are back," said Keith Urbahn, Latimer's co-founder at Javelin. "It's still uphill sledding for political books."

• "This book is different," he added. "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."

Zoom in: The book has been No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for three weeks running.

• "Regime Change" has also been No. 1 in Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, and No. 2 in the UK.

The big picture: Just two months ago, a Wall Street Journal article declared that "Dad Books" — including books about politics and current affairs, as well as biographies and histories — "are a dying breed."

• The proximate causes: audiobooks, Substack newsletters, Netflix documentaries, YouTube videos and podcasts.

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