US President Donald Trump compared himself to some of the most feared leaders in history, including Mao, Stalin, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Hitler, a book published by New York Times reporters revealed in excerpts reported by CNN.Trump told NYT reporters that he had received a two-page document from “a historian” that argued that each of the other leaders had “no global reach” while Trump’s power was not “local.” The document, it turned out, was written not by a historian but by a longtime associate of golfer Gary Player, who shared his assessment with Trump on golf in Florida.According to the book, Trump said, “These leaders maintained power through fear.” “Who would do such a thing? Right?”
Trump called Netanyahu a ‘fraud’
The book reveals Trump’s hot and cold feelings about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump told an Israel skeptic in the early months of his administration that he wanted “no part” of a Netanyahu war with Iran. He told another adviser that Netanyahu was a “fraud”.Reports say Trump has since added “b****** crazy” and “no nonsense decision” to his list of insults for the Israeli leader.According to the book, at a White House Situation Room meeting in February, Netanyahu presented Israel’s case for war with Iran, which Trump ultimately decided to support.
other parts
The book also writes about Trump’s suspicions towards Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the book, after a notable debate in the Oval Office between Trump, Zelensky and Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump thought the confrontation was “better than The Apprentice.”Trump’s bitterness towards his own cabinet has also been documented. In April 2025, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was trying to convince Trump that tariffs would not put American automakers at major losses. Trump told Lutnick that he “used to be tough” but has become “weak.”“You used to be a killer, Howard,” Trump said. “And now you’ve got your beautiful wife, and your big house, and you’re all soft. And you’re a p****.”The book details Trump’s campaign to make life miserable for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. During a staff meeting in July, Trump said of Powell: “I want to bust his fuck balls. … Can we stop construction? I just want to bust his fuck balls. Fuck her.”Trump’s allies then devised a plan to appoint Trump associates to the National Capital Planning Commission to target Federal Reserve building renovations.During an Oval Office meeting with Trump, Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, Musk was “transfixed” by a golden pager that Netanyahu had gifted Trump in honor of Israel’s 2024 explosive pager attack against Hezbollah. According to the book, Trump gave her graphic details of the damage and injuries he sustained in the attack, including “mutilated genitals and missing hands.”