Recently, we reported on disgraced ex-President Trump’s claims that he’s still “writing like crazy” in the wake of his unsuccessful blog being permanently shut down, but according to several new reports, all that crazy writing will be for nothing as all the major publishing houses allegedly don’t want to touch the unhinged former guy with a 10-foot pole.
In his recent statement, Trump hinted that he’s working on the “book of all books” that he will release as soon as he’s good and ready and not a moment sooner, after claiming that he’s turned down multiple book deals — all while his former VP Mike Pence rakes in the cash with a book deal of his own. However, according to reports from POLITICO as well as Business Insider, Trump’s not “turning down” any book deals because no publisher worth their salt is willing to work with the “radioactive” former president.
It’s no secret that former Presidents and First Ladies have never had much trouble in landing a book deal after their time in the White House was up. Hell, Barack and Michelle Obama landed a comfy $65 million joint advance on their post-White House memoir from Penguin Random House after a rather heated bidding war between major publishers. But when it comes to Donald Trump, you could hear a pin drop.
According to POLITICO, publishers are steering clear of the former guy not only due to his “radioactive” stance on the January 6th Capitol insurrection but also because anything coming from Donald Trump would be a fact-checking nightmare.
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Sources from major publishers Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, and Simon & Schuster spoke with POLITICO and said they haven’t heard of anyone offering the ex-president any sort of book deal and that doesn’t seem to hurt their feelings, as no one appeared to be eager to edit a mess coming from Donald Trump anyway.
One source within the publishing industry said the reluctance to sign on with Trump isn’t just due to the insurrection, but also that Donald “has screwed over so many publishers that before he ran for president none of the big 5 would work with [him] anymore.”
Co-founder of literary agency Javelin, Keith Urbahn, spoke with POLITICO and said, “It doesn’t matter what the upside on a Trump book deal is, the headaches the project would bring would far outweigh the potential in the eyes of a major publisher.”
He went on to add that any publisher willing to take on Donald Trump “is looking at a fact-checking nightmare, an exodus of other authors, and a staff uprising in the unlikely event they strike a deal with the former president.”
Even former VP Mike Pence’s book deal with Simon & Schuster came at the price of quite a bit of internal strife among staff.
POLITICO noted that it’s still possible that a smaller publishing house could pick up the former president’s book, or he could go the way of his eldest son and choose to publish his opus on his own.
Donald Trump Jr. of course self-published his most recent book, titled Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden and the Democrats’ Defense of the Indefensible, after his 2019 book, Triggered, was published by Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group.
Sales for both of Junior’s books were heavily padded by the Republican National Convention.
His book, Triggered, hit the top of the New York Times bestseller for non-fiction list the week after its release, however, it was accompanied by a dagger symbol that indicates that a large percentage of the book’s sales came from “institutional, special interest, group, or bulk purchases.”
Speaking with Page Six, one source said, “It’s known in the industry as the ‘deadly dagger.’ A rare penalty that is only called for flagrant fouls.”
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
