President Donald Trump has railed again about an explosive biography by two New York Times reporters in a lengthy rant that also boasted about his “perfect physical” and acing a cognitive test.
On Saturday morning, journalist Maggie Haberman told MSNOW’s The Weekend that Trump’s health “is like a black box inside that administration” and said that she and colleague Jonathan Swan failed to delve deeper into the president’s health.
“And if there is an area of failure in the reporting for us, it was this,” she said.
Trump, 80, has long complained about Haberman’s reporting of him, giving her the derogatory nickname “Maggot,” and railed against the pair in a Truth Social post Saturday, just hours after they appeared on the show.
The president said that their book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, was “a joke” and claimed 90 percent of its contents was “fake news,” before he went on to brag about his recent physical examination at Walter Reed military hospital at the end of May.
“If she ever wrote the true story about me, it would actually be quite boring, but loaded with lots of SUCCESS,” Trump said of Haberman. “Also, I just finished a perfect physical at Walter Reed, I do it every six months, and I requested another Cognitive Test, the only President to do so, three times, and I aced them all — Got every question right.”
“Few people in Washington, D.C., could do so, including Maggot and her flunky associate, Jonathan Swan. I would be willing to bet they couldn’t get 50% of the questions right,” Trump continued, likely referring to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test which is used to detect dementia or cognitive decline. “Anyway, don’t buy their book, it’s garbage!” he added.
Haberman and Swan clapped back by touting the biography’s strong sales. Swan shared Trump’s Truth Social post with a screenshot of the book in the number-one “most sold” on Amazon’s book chart, as of July 5.
“Many people disagree with the president’s assessment. Thanks to you all for reading,” Swan quipped.
Haberman also shared her colleague’s post responding to the president, without mentioning Trump. “Extremely grateful for the interest in our book,” she said. “Thank you to those who have engaged with it. And hardcovers are being restocked!”
In another post quoting the president on Truth Social, Swan added: “I would be honored to do another on-camera interview with President Trump whenever he wants.”
The book, which is based on around 1,000 interviews, has sold over 300,000 copies, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. It delves into the first 14 months of Trump’s second term in granular detail, sharing the inner workings of the West Wing, the White House residence, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, journeys aboard Air Force One, and foreign trips. It also detailed the Jeffrey Epstein crisis that consumed the Trump White House in 2025.
The White House was reportedly alarmed by the book. “We’re afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded,” an administration source told Axios last month. “And we have no idea which ones.”
It comes as Trump has ratcheted up his campaign against the news media, issuing subpoenas to multiple Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns about the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One.
The new Justice Department subpoenas seek to compel the journalists to appear before a federal grand jury in New York City Wednesday, according to the Times on Saturday. Some reporters received the documents from federal agents who turned up at their homes.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said the newspaper’s attorney, David McCraw.
In a statement to The Independent, the Justice Department said its investigation is aimed not at reporters but at those who leak classified information. “We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the statement read, in part.