The publishing and political worlds can’t stop talking about A Warning, the forthcoming book by an anonymous senior official in the Trump administration.
Publisher Twelve Books, a Hachette imprint, announced the book’s publication earlier this week, launching a wave of speculation about who the unnamed author might be.
On Friday, Axios reported that the author will recount conversations they had with President Trump in a series of meetings. The website also posted a picture of the back of the book’s dust jacket, which reads in part, “You will hear a great deal from Donald Trump directly, for there is no better witness to his character than his own words and no better evidence of the danger he poses than his own conduct.”
The announcement of the book caused political observers to guess the identity of the author, who wrote a New York Times op-ed in September 2018 in which they claimed to be one of many “senior officials in [Trump’s] administration [who] are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”
The New York Daily News reports that bookmakers have named Vice President Pence as the odds-on favorite to be behind the book, followed closely by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Other names on the bookies’ list include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, adviser Kellyanne Conway, first daughter Ivanka Trump, and—because why the hell not—President Trump himself.
Axios reports that the author will participate in at least one interview with the press, although which media outlet will get it is as yet undecided. (Hey, Anonymous, let’s talk.)
A Warning, which as of Friday afternoon was the No. 1 bestselling book on Amazon,is slated for publication on Nov. 19, so you’ll have that discussion to look forward to at your Thanksgiving dinner.
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
