Tom's first guest today is New York Times White House correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman.

She began her career in the mid-1990s covering New York politics for the New York Post and the Daily News.  She has known Donald Trump and many of those in his orbit since then, and when Trump was elected U.S. president, her reporting was essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the chaotic tenure of the 45th president. In 2018, that reporting led to a Pulitzer Prize for her and a team of Times colleagues. She and others at the Times were finalists for Pulitzers in 2021 and again this year.

Her new book is a number one best-seller. It’s called Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.  It was released two weeks ago, months, even years after several very thoughtful books about the Trump Presidency, and a bunch of less-than thoughtful books by journalists and family members. Tom believes this one was worth the wait.

Haberman reports that Trump’s political instincts were shaped early in a career in which scandal and acclaim were never distant. Her account is a comprehensive, insightful study of where and how Trump developed his attitude, his world view, and his political tactics.

We're delighted to welcome Maggie Haberman to the show to talk it about it.

She joins us on Zoom from New York…

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