Trump ordering – An excerpt from “Regime Change” says President Donald Trump, on the 17th day of the Iran war, greeted reporters in “smiling salesman mode,” showed printouts of maple trees meant for the White House instead of a Middle East map, and boasted, “I know how to buy
On the 17th day of his war with Iran, President Donald Trump allegedly walked reporters into the Oval Office and kept the conversation far from the battlefield.
In an excerpt read aloud on MS NOW by Lawrence O’Donnell. Trump is described as entering the Oval Office from the corridor connected to his private dining room. smiling and telling the reporters. “Nice to see you.” O’Donnell’s reading places that moment in a grim stretch of the conflict: by then. 13 American service members had already been killed. and more than 200 had been wounded. The excerpt also says that thousands of Iranians were dead, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Instead of a map of the Middle East on the Resolute Desk, the excerpt says the desk held printouts of maple trees. Trump, as O’Donnell read it, told the reporters, “I’m ordering trees for the White House,” then added, “I know how to buy good trees. Maples.”
The account depicts Trump as buoyant even as the war dragged on. O’Donnell read that the president held another printout alongside the tree images—described as focusing on TikTok—and that Trump asked. “Can you believe it?” The excerpt says Trump also showed two final printouts: renderings from different angles of the grand ballroom he was building on the White House grounds.
The larger dispute around “Regime Change” is not only about what’s depicted in the Oval Office. but how the book got there. The excerpt is drawn from the book Regime Change. set for release June 23. by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. The text says the book has already sparked controversy. with White House officials reportedly concerned the two got ahold of audio from inside the Situation Room.
Trump’s relationship with Haberman has also been sharply personal. The source material says Trump posted a scathing Truth Social branding Haberman a “SLEAZEBAG writer” in March and threatened a lawsuit against her. Three days later. the excerpt says Haberman and Swan reportedly sat down with Trump in the Oval Office—describing the tone toward Haberman as taking a turn.
In the way the excerpt is staged. the tension lands where the war’s losses are already tallied and the desk isn’t showing the Middle East. While the book’s portrayal hinges on the reported details of a specific visit—trees. renderings. and a president in a convivial mood—the controversy surrounding the audiobook and the Situation Room concern adds a second pressure point: not just what Trump allegedly said. but what it implies and how it was captured.
Donald Trump Iran war White House maples Regime Change Maggie Haberman Jonathan Swan Situation Room audio Truth Social Oval Office