Big Publishers Deny Trump’s Claim They Are Begging for His Book: ‘He’s Screwed Over So Many Publishers’
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Former President Donald Trump is reportedly struggling to find a publishing house willing to pick up his new book, despite his claim to the contrary.
“I turned down two book deals, from the most unlikely of publishers, in that I do not want to do such a deal right now,” Trump wrote in a Friday statement. “I’m writing like crazy anyway, however, and when the time comes, you’ll see the book of all books. Actually, I’ve been working on a much more important project right now!
Despite the former president’s claim, Politico reported Tuesday that publishing houses are actually reluctant to pick up his book, noting that none of the major five — Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, and Simon & Schuster — have extended an offer.
Politico additionally claimed that the former president, in a Monday statement to the media company, called publishing houses “Some of the biggest sleezebags [sic] on earth.”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t accept them sometime in the future, as I have started writing the book,” the statement reportedly added. “If my book will be the biggest of them all, and with 39 books written or being written about me, does anybody really believe that they are above making a lot of money?”
One publishing insider, however, is “skeptical” regarding the validity of Trump’s statement, telling Politico, “He’s screwed over so many publishers that before he ran for president none of the big 5 would work with [him] anymore.”
Another industry insider noted that while Trump could truly have “unlikely” offers, that does not mean they aren’t from a “publisher in Zimbabwe,” while another source pointed out that “Somebody could have offered him 100 dollars.”
“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,” said Keith Urbahn, president and founding partner of literary and creative agency Javelin. “Any editor bold enough to acquire the Trump memoir 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.”
