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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 190

Trump Is Everywhere

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 190: Trump Is Everywhere

What Fauci’s Innermost Musings Reveal

July 29, 2026 · 6:21 am ET · Leave a Comment

New York Times: “More than 1,100 pages long and dating from 2019 to 2022, Dr. Fauci’s diary reads like a black comedy of manners in which a 79-year-old social-climbing scientist becomes the face of the government’s response to a pandemic and then the toast of the town — the toast of this town. As the death toll rises, so too does the doctor’s status and self-regard. He falls in with a fast crowd and becomes consumed by his own image.”

“It’s like Thackeray’s Vanity Fair crossed with The Plague by Camus.”

NPR: Rand Paul released Fauci’s pandemic-era “diary.” Now they’ll face off on Capitol Hill.

Media Buzz, Political Books

Can This Man Save Democrats?

July 26, 2026 · 5:47 am ET · Leave a Comment

Politico: “Ben Wikler wanted to lead the Democratic Party after his party’s disastrous 2024. But Wikler, the former Wisconsin Democratic chair, may ultimately help Democrats even more with his new book: This Is the Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy.”

”Equal parts memoir, political history and how-to guide, Wikler does what Democrats desperately need — he grabs them by the proverbial lapels and demands they pay as much attention to their structural and long-term challenges as they do Donald Trump’s latest outburst. He also has some fun along the way.”

This Is The Plan
How to End America's Meltdown and Save Democracy
by Ben Wikler · W. W. Norton & Company · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Kindle
More on this book from Political Wire →

Democrats, Political Books

‘Regime Change’ Sells 500,000 Copies

July 22, 2026 · 10:49 am ET · Leave a Comment

“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,” Axios reports.

”Publishing sources tell me the blockbuster is on track to be the bestselling nonfiction book of 2026.”

Regime Change
Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
by Haberman, Maggie and Swan, Jonathan · Simon & Schuster · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Paperback·Kindle
More on this book from Political Wire →

Media Buzz, Political Books

Brett McGurk Releasing Book On Hamas Hostage Crisis

July 15, 2026 · 5:02 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“A lead U.S. negotiator for the release of hundreds of people captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel will have a book out this fall,” the Associated Press reports.

“The Penguin Random House imprint Crown has scheduled Brett McGurk’s Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages for Oct. 6, nearly three years to the day after the deadly Hamas siege that left more than 1,000 people dead and more than 200 taken captive.”

New · Out October 6, 2026Brink
Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages
by McGurk, Brett · Crown
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Kindle

Foreign Affairs, Political Books

Biden Will Release Memoir Just After the Midterms

July 15, 2026 · 9:00 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has written a memoir that will be released two weeks after the midterm elections this fall,” the New York Times reports.

Biden Legacy, Political Books

Inside the Fantasy World of Donald Trump

July 4, 2026 · 8:35 am ET · Leave a Comment

The Economist: “Pundits often say that Trump World resembles Game of Thrones because it is a place where horrid people do horrid things in pursuit of power. Fiddlesticks. The main reason why Trump World is like a dragons-and-zombies saga is that its protagonists live in a land of make-believe.”

“Especially President Donald Trump, whose understanding of reality seems to be based on snippets he once heard and wishes were true. Regime Change, an account of his second term by two New York Times journalists, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, brims with examples.”

Political Books

Muskism

July 4, 2026 · 7:03 am ET · Leave a Comment

Just published: Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff.

“Everyone’s got an Elon take. He’s a messiah. A menace; a genius; a clown. The verdicts differ, but they share one theme: they treat him as an individual.”

“Muskism argues otherwise. Elon Musk isn’t a glitch in the system—he is the system. His worldview promises sovereignty through technology: plug in, power up, and become self-reliant. But the more you connect, the more he owns you.”

Muskism
A Guide for the Perplexed
by Slobodian, Quinn and Tarnoff, Ben · Harper · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Kindle
More on this book from Political Wire →

Political Books

Trump Didn’t Recover From ‘Co-President’ Elon Musk

June 26, 2026 · 12:14 pm ET · Leave a Comment

New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan told Morning Joe that Elon Musk‘s stint as “co-president” last year created a level of “destabilization” from which the Trump administration has never recovered, The Wrap reports.

Said Haberman: “You had Elon Musk — and we get into this in great detail — essentially serving not as a co-president but as a co-president for parts of the first four months or so… That created so much destabilization of this government that I think they also never quite recovered.”

Financial Times: Regime change — the chaos of a court built around Donald Trump’s instinct.

Political Books, White House

This Is the Plan

June 24, 2026 · 2:42 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Out next month: This Is The Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy by Ben Wikler.

“Wikler distills lessons from the front lines in America’s most closely divided state to map out a comprehensive plan to dictator-proof American government, defeat MAGA at every level of the ballot, and build a future of democracy, opportunity, and freedom for all.”

This Is The Plan
How to End America's Meltdown and Save Democracy
by Wikler, Ben · W. W. Norton & Company · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Kindle
More on this book from Political Wire →

Political Books

Democracy on the Edge

June 22, 2026 · 12:30 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Coming this summer: Democracy on the Edge: The Trump Elections and the Future of American Politics by John Kenneth White and Matthew Kerbel.

How the American political parties have brought us to a crossroads for democracy.

Democracy on the Edge
The Trump Elections and the Future of American Politics
by White, John Kenneth and Kerbel, Matthew R. · University Press of Kansas · 2026
Buy on Amazon

Political Books

New Book Depicts How Trump Hobbled His Presidency

June 22, 2026 · 6:46 am ET · Leave a Comment

“The summer nonfiction blockbuster Regime Change, which is already rattling the White House ahead of its release Tuesday, offers a flood of new detail under a classical theme: hubris,” Semafor reports.

“Journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan tell the story of a president who fought his way back from 2021 political exile to the White House — and then allowed overconfidence, improvisation, and impulse to hobble his second presidency.”

Regime Change
Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
by Haberman, Maggie and Swan, Jonathan · Simon & Schuster · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Paperback·Kindle
More on this book from Political Wire →

Political Books

American Scoundrel

June 18, 2026 · 11:55 am ET · Leave a Comment

A must-read: American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump by Kai Bird.

A biography of super-lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn, whose shocking exploits over four decades have shaped the modern political era, most prominently the ascent of Donald Trump.

American Scoundrel
Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump
by Bird, Kai and Goldmark, Susan · Scribner · 2026
Buy on Amazon
More on this book from Political Wire →

Political Books

Aide’s Book Exposes Trump’s Pressure Tactics on GOP

June 18, 2026 · 11:09 am ET · Leave a Comment

The New York Times reviews Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House by John Leganski.

“It is unusual for a top congressional aide to write a tell-all book, and much of Mr. Leganski’s is filled with the kind of wonky detail that only a political junkie would crave. But his real-time account of the arm-twisting sessions that Mr. Trump has employed for years to keep Republican lawmakers in line provides fresh insight into a familiar phenomenon that is seldom recounted on the record by someone who witnessed it firsthand.”

Political Books

The Department of Revenge

June 17, 2026 · 10:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Just published: The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice by Devlin Barrett.

“No part of life in the United States has been untouched by Donald Trump’s relentless weaponization of the Justice Department. This is a cautionary tale about how, once a president amasses such power, future presidents may never relinquish it.”

The Department of Revenge
How Trump Took Control of American Justice
by Barrett, Devlin · Simon & Schuster · 2026
Buy on Amazon

Political Books

No Prophets

June 16, 2026 · 2:54 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Coming soon: No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA).

Sinclair Lewis is said to have warned: “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” On January 6, 2021, Rep. Jared Huffman saw something chillingly close to that vision. 

No Prophets
The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism
by Huffman, Jared · W. W. Norton & Company · 2026
Buy on Amazon

Political Books

Gerontocracy in America

June 16, 2026 · 10:28 am ET · Leave a Comment

Just out: Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth―and What to Do About It by Samuel Moyn.

“As Americans debate President Biden’s infirmities and President Trump’s erratic behavior, we’ve neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young.”

Gerontocracy in America
How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth―and What to Do About It
by Moyn, Samuel · Farrar, Straus and Giroux · 2026
Buy on Amazon

Political Books

JD Vance’s Wife Was Key to His Conversion to Catholicism

June 16, 2026 · 6:49 am ET · Leave a Comment

CNN: “Vance’s book makes clear few people are more central to his story, or his political future, than his wife Usha.”

“In the acknowledgements of Communion, Vance credits Usha, who is Hindu, for encouraging him to reconnect with Christianity after spending a period as an atheist.”

Political Books

The Book That’s Riling House GOP Leadership

June 16, 2026 · 5:36 am ET · Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “It is very rare for a senior congressional leadership staffer to write a book. Maybe that’s why John Leganski’s book is causing so much angst in the House Republican leadership.”

“Glory, Grief, and the Gavel: An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House will be out next week, and it’s a pretty juicy read. It dives deep into former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s rise and ultimate fall from Congress. It has some pretty good nuggets from the rooms Leganski was in; he served as McCarthy’s deputy chief of staff.”

Glory, Grief, and the Gavel
An Inside Guide to Running for Speaker of the House
by Leganski, John · Regnery · 2026
Buy on Amazon
Hardcover·Kindle

House of Representatives, Political Books

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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