Regime Change

ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHERS PROMISED THAT SWEEPING AWAY THE OLD ARISTOCRACY AND TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS WOULD LIBERATE US. To some extent it did – but it also undermined the things that nourished ordinary people: family, marriage, religion and local community. In Regime Change , Patrick Deneen examines the western tradition and argues that we must use the neglected resources of our philosophical heritage to construct a better way forward. Drawing on thinkers ranging from Aristotle and Machiavelli to Burke and Disraeli, Deneen develops a postliberal alternative. This iconoclastic book challenges the easy assumptions of left and right. It is a blueprint for the radical changes we need to negotiate the paradoxes of the 21st century, while remaining alive to the wisdom of the past. ‘Regime Change offers a sober assessment of where we are and a way forward that will challenge ideologues on all sides of the political maelstrom’ — MARY HARRINGTON, author of Feminism Against Progress ‘Articulates a vision for a populist politics that can rebuild what has been torn down’ — J. D. VANCE, United States Senator and author of Hillbilly Elegy

ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHERS PROMISED THAT SWEEPING AWAY THE OLD ARISTOCRACY AND TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS WOULD LIBERATE US. To some extent it did – but it also undermined the things that nourished ordinary people: family, marriage, religion and local community. In Regime Change , Patrick Deneen examines the western tradition and argues that we must use the neglected resources of our philosophical heritage to construct a better way forward. Drawing on thinkers ranging from Aristotle and Machiavelli to Burke and Disraeli, Deneen develops a postliberal alternative. This iconoclastic book challenges the easy assumptions of left and right. It is a blueprint for the radical changes we need to negotiate the paradoxes of the 21st century, while remaining alive to the wisdom of the past. ‘Regime Change offers a sober assessment of where we are and a way forward that will challenge ideologues on all sides of the political maelstrom’ — MARY HARRINGTON, author of Feminism Against Progress ‘Articulates a vision for a populist politics that can rebuild what has been torn down’ — J. D. VANCE, United States Senator and author of Hillbilly Elegy

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘A flabbergasting feat of political reporting . . . A news bomb on every page’ Tina Brown, Observer ‘ A blockbuster’ Guardian ‘Gobsmacking’ Daily Mail ‘Eye-popping’ Economist ‘Deeply reported and gripping' Financial Times ‘Riveting’ Fintan O'Toole, New York Times ‘Exceptional . . . packed with news that will stay news’ David Remnick, New Yorker ‘It’s sparked fear – and leak inquiries – in the White House’ Sunday Times * Few expected Donald Trump to return to the White House stronger than before. The indictments, convictions, assassination attempts, and four years of political exile made him not weaker but more powerful, more vengeful, and more willing to gamble than any President that came before him. Regime Change is the definitive account of the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency, based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms. Journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman investigate the decisions that have defined Trump’s second term, which has been liberated from every constraint that defined his first. The generals who once told him ‘no’ are gone, and the lawyers who remain have learned to pick their battles. Haberman and Swan take you behind the scenes of a presidency that has launched a new war in the Middle East, sealed the border, deployed National Guard troops into American cities, transformed the Justice Department into an instrument of retribution against the President’s enemies, and turned the office itself into a brazen vehicle for profit. They reveal a President operating almost entirely on instinct and a White House operating at the edge of political power. Regime Change shows how Trump has wielded that power, who has tried to stop him, and why nearly all of them have failed. A landmark work of real-time political history, this is the story of a President who has fundamentally altered how the world understands American power.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘A flabbergasting feat of political reporting . . . A news bomb on every page’ Tina Brown, Observer ‘ A blockbuster’ Guardian ‘Gobsmacking’ Daily Mail ‘Eye-popping’ Economist ‘Deeply reported and gripping' Financial Times ‘Riveting’ Fintan O'Toole, New York Times ‘Exceptional . . . packed with news that will stay news’ David Remnick, New Yorker ‘It’s sparked fear – and leak inquiries – in the White House’ Sunday Times * Few expected Donald Trump to return to the White House stronger than before. The indictments, convictions, assassination attempts, and four years of political exile made him not weaker but more powerful, more vengeful, and more willing to gamble than any President that came before him. Regime Change is the definitive account of the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency, based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms. Journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman investigate the decisions that have defined Trump’s second term, which has been liberated from every constraint that defined his first. The generals who once told him ‘no’ are gone, and the lawyers who remain have learned to pick their battles. Haberman and Swan take you behind the scenes of a presidency that has launched a new war in the Middle East, sealed the border, deployed National Guard troops into American cities, transformed the Justice Department into an instrument of retribution against the President’s enemies, and turned the office itself into a brazen vehicle for profit. They reveal a President operating almost entirely on instinct and a White House operating at the edge of political power. Regime Change shows how Trump has wielded that power, who has tried to stop him, and why nearly all of them have failed. A landmark work of real-time political history, this is the story of a President who has fundamentally altered how the world understands American power.

From Notre Dame professor and author of Why Liberalism Failed comes a provocative call for replacing the tyranny of the self-serving liberal elite with conservative leaders aligned with the interests of the working class Classical liberalism promised to overthrow the old aristocracy, creating an order in which individuals could create their own identities and futures. To some extent it did--but it has also demolished the traditions and institutions that nourished ordinary people and created a new and exploitative ruling class. This class's economic libertarianism, progressive values, and technocratic commitments have led them to rule for the benefit of the "few" at the expense of the "many," precipitating our current political crises. In Regime Change , Patrick Deneen proposes a bold plan for replacing the liberal elite and the ideology that created and empowered them. Grass-roots populist efforts to destroy the ruling class altogether are naive; what's needed is the strategic formation of a new elite devoted to a "pre-postmodern conservatism" and aligned with the interest of the "many." Their top-down efforts to form a new governing philosophy, ethos, and class could transform our broken regime from one that serves only the so-called meritocrats. Drawing on the oldest lessons of the western tradition but recognizing the changed conditions that arise in liberal modernity, Deneen offers a roadmap for these changes, offering hope for progress after "progress" and liberty after liberalism.

From Notre Dame professor and author of Why Liberalism Failed comes a provocative call for replacing the tyranny of the self-serving liberal elite with conservative leaders aligned with the interests of the working class Classical liberalism promised to overthrow the old aristocracy, creating an order in which individuals could create their own identities and futures. To some extent it did--but it has also demolished the traditions and institutions that nourished ordinary people and created a new and exploitative ruling class. This class's economic libertarianism, progressive values, and technocratic commitments have led them to rule for the benefit of the "few" at the expense of the "many," precipitating our current political crises. In Regime Change , Patrick Deneen proposes a bold plan for replacing the liberal elite and the ideology that created and empowered them. Grass-roots populist efforts to destroy the ruling class altogether are naive; what's needed is the strategic formation of a new elite devoted to a "pre-postmodern conservatism" and aligned with the interest of the "many." Their top-down efforts to form a new governing philosophy, ethos, and class could transform our broken regime from one that serves only the so-called meritocrats. Drawing on the oldest lessons of the western tradition but recognizing the changed conditions that arise in liberal modernity, Deneen offers a roadmap for these changes, offering hope for progress after "progress" and liberty after liberalism.

A riveting, intimate, and revelatory account of the most radical and consequential presidency of our time. From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House. Regime Change covers the first year of Trump's second presidency--a term liberated from every constraint that defined his first. The generals who once told him "no" are gone, and the lawyers who remain have learned to pick their battles. His administration has flouted court orders and he has claimed powers that Congress once checked. What remains is a President willing to take enormous risks that have upended global markets and toppled heads of state; an imperial President operating almost entirely on instinct alone. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration's most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader inside the Situation Room and into the secret Oval Office deliberations that have launched a new war in the Middle East and seen Trump seal the border, surge National Guard troops into cities, and send immigration agents into deadly clashes with protestors. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan bring us behind the scenes of a presidency that has transformed the culture, turned the Justice Department into an agent of retribution against the President's enemies and the office itself into a brazen vehicle for profit. They reveal a second term propelled by a historical irony that Trump himself has come to understand: that the indictments, the convictions, the assassination attempts, and four years of exile made him not weaker but far more powerful, more vengeful, and more willing to gamble than any President in modern history. This is the story of how Trump has used that power, who has tried to stop him, and why nearly all of them have failed. It is also the story of something American journalists are more accustomed to chronicling in distant capitals than in their own: a President who has fundamentally altered the nature of the office he holds--and, with it, how the rest of the world understands American power. It is an account of Regime Change right here in America--a landmark real-time history of a modern presidency like no other.

A riveting, intimate, and revelatory account of the most radical and consequential presidency of our time. From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House. Regime Change covers the first year of Trump's second presidency--a term liberated from every constraint that defined his first. The generals who once told him "no" are gone, and the lawyers who remain have learned to pick their battles. His administration has flouted court orders and he has claimed powers that Congress once checked. What remains is a President willing to take enormous risks that have upended global markets and toppled heads of state; an imperial President operating almost entirely on instinct alone. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration's most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader inside the Situation Room and into the secret Oval Office deliberations that have launched a new war in the Middle East and seen Trump seal the border, surge National Guard troops into cities, and send immigration agents into deadly clashes with protestors. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan bring us behind the scenes of a presidency that has transformed the culture, turned the Justice Department into an agent of retribution against the President's enemies and the office itself into a brazen vehicle for profit. They reveal a second term propelled by a historical irony that Trump himself has come to understand: that the indictments, the convictions, the assassination attempts, and four years of exile made him not weaker but far more powerful, more vengeful, and more willing to gamble than any President in modern history. This is the story of how Trump has used that power, who has tried to stop him, and why nearly all of them have failed. It is also the story of something American journalists are more accustomed to chronicling in distant capitals than in their own: a President who has fundamentally altered the nature of the office he holds--and, with it, how the rest of the world understands American power. It is an account of Regime Change right here in America--a landmark real-time history of a modern presidency like no other.