Trump’s misaligned priorities have 'no precedent in US history': Haberman

With the United States' 2026 midterms less than three months away, U.S. voters, according to polls, are especially worried about the economy, inflation and the Iran war. Yet President Donald Trump, according to author and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, is heavily focused on something that isn't a high priority for voters: makeover and renovation projects for Washington, DC. And she explained Trump's reasons for that focus during an interview with Axios' Mike Allen.

Haberman and fellow journalist Jonathan Swan takes an in-depth look at Trump's second presidency in their new book, "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" — which Haberman has been promoting in a long list of media appearances. Talking to Axios, Haberman explained why makeover projects in D.C. are so important to the president when voters are worried about the economy and the war.

Haberman told Allen, "He is spending a huge amount of energy, mental and otherwise, on these renovation projects, beautification projects around Washington, and then monuments to self. (There) is no precedent in U.S. history of a sitting president devising such endeavors in their own name…. What interests him are things that you can see and touch."

In March, Haberman and Swan interviewed Trump in the White House for their book. And she emphasized, during her Axios interview, that the makeover projects in D.C. were a higher priority for him than the Iran war — which had been launched in late February.

Haberman told Allen, "It was very clear what his mind was on while we were there. And what it was not really on was the war…. He didn't really want to talk about that. He didn't really want to talk about policy specifics. He wanted to describe himself as winning. And he wanted to show us how he had remade Washington."

Trump has been pursuing a variety of makeover and renovation projects in and around Washington D.C., with proposals ranging from a White House ballroom to a "triumphal arch" near Arlington National Cemetery. Another priority for Trump is putting his brand on the Kennedy Center.

Haberman told Swan, "You would think that on the 17th day of the war, that he would have maps of the Middle East or maps of troop deployments — who knows. He picks up these pictures, and (they're) of maple trees. And he says: 'I am choosing maple trees for the White House. I am good at picking trees.' I'm paraphrasing here, but that is pretty much what he said. Under that were designs of the ballroom. And he starts talking to us about the columns and how some of the columns are evocative of Rome. And then on the other side, the columns are evocative of Athens. And he's happy that they are a little bit either wider or more spaced apart or both than the columns at the Supreme Court. And that was like the first 15 minutes of this hour that we had."