Will President Donald Trump sell a book to a major publisher after he leaves the White House in January? Not necessarily, reports the Associated Press.
Presidential memoirs have been a staple of the publishing industry for decades, but the Big Five publishers might take a pass on a book by the controversial president, who last week lost reelection to former Vice President Joe Biden.
“It was a very controversial presidency and the New York publishing world isn’t exactly packed with Trump fans,” literary agent Matt Latimer told the AP. “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.”
Simon and Schuster publisher Dana Canedy said she wouldn’t rule out publishing a book by Trump, but would insist that the book be “fair, balanced and honest.” According to The Washington Post, Trump has made untrue or misleading statements more than 20,000 times during his time in office.
Reagan Arthur, the publisher of Alfred A. Knopf, told the AP it was doubtful she would choose to publish a book by Trump but said she’d be willing to meet with him as a courtesy.
Even if Trump couldn’t make a deal with a major publisher, he could take a cue from his son, Donald Trump Jr., who this summer announced he was self-publishing his latest book.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
