Expect more books on Trump after he leaves office
NEW YORK – One of publishing’s most thriving genres of the past four years, books about President Donald Trump, is not going to end when he leaves office.
In 2021 and beyond, look for waves of releases about the Trump administration and about the president’s loss to Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Works already planned include the anti-trump “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response,” by former Obamacare head Andy Slavitt. There’s a campaign book from New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns. And former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is reportedly working on a memoir.
Expect detailed condemnations of the 45th president’s actions and rhetoric, from journalists and former associates, and also flattering accounts from White House allies and pro-trump pundits. And there might well be a book from Trump himself, who received more than 70 million votes even as he became the first president in nearly 30 years to be defeated after one term.
“It was a very controversial presidency and the New York publishing world isn’t exactly packed with Trump fans,” says Matt Latimer of the Javelin literary agency, where clients have included former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Adviser John Bolton and Fox host Tucker Carlson.
“But there are tens of millions of Americans who look to the Trump presidency as an important time and are fans of his administration. At least some publishers will recognize that.”
Publishers often speak proudly about their openness to diverse voices, while also acknowledging that they like to make money. Several houses have conservative imprints that over the past few years have acquired books by everyone from Sean Hannity to Corey Lewandowski.
Simon & Schuster is Hillary Clinton’s longtime publisher, but through its conservative Threshold Editions released Trump’s most recent work, “Crippled America,” which came out in 2015. Center Street, a Hachette Book Group imprint, has published Donald Trump Jr., Newt Gingrich and Judge Jeanine Pirro among others.
“No matter their political beliefs, every American has personally experienced the seismic shift within Washington,” Center Street publisher Daisy Blackwell Hutton said in a statement. “Books will be published for years to come about his presidency and the conservative movement in general, and Center Street absolutely intends to be a leader in that space.”
There are risks in publishing Trump, although even presidents who have left office highly unpopular, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush, managed to get book deals and release bestsellers. None were as polarizing as Trump or have so many upcoming legal battles, including a New York State investigation into his finances, and a defamation lawsuit from E. Jean Carroll, one of more than 20 women who have alleged sexual assault or misconduct by Trump.
Several publishers told the AP that they don’t believe Trump will have the same global appeal as former President Barack Obama, whose “A Promised Land” comes out next week. Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, agreed to a reported $65 million deal with Crown in 2017.
Dana Canedy, senior vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster’s namesake imprint, said any decision to work with Trump or those in his Cabinet would depend on what they were planning to say.
Canedy said she might be interested in a book from Trump about his influence on the Republican Party, which initially resisted his rise in 2016.