Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had rejected book deals from two prestigious publishing houses amid reports that big ...
Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had rejected book deals from two prestigious publishing houses amid reports that big publishers were wary of signing up to release what would be a disputed and controversial memoir.
Details emerged as Trump reshuffled his team, appointing a new spokesperson, and aides announced he would be holding his first post-presidential rally in Ohio on June 26.
However, Trump has yet to announce a book deal - generally considered a lucrative exercise for a recent White House resident as well as a chance to settle old scores.
The former president insisted that was his decision, having rejected two offers.
'That doesn’t mean I won’t accept them sometime in the future, as I have started writing the book,' he said in a statement first obtained by Politico.
'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?
'Some of the biggest sleezebags [sic] on earth run these companies.'
Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York City while a hostile crowd shouted. He railed against publishers on Tuesday, claiming he had turned down two book deals as he answered back at claims the industry was reluctant to sign him up for a memoir
Trump marked his 75th birthday a day earlier as he gears up for a return to the public spotlight with two rallies in the next three weeks. He also announced a news spokesperson
Trump named Liz Harrington as his new spokesperson and described the former RNC figure as a 'fighter.' She replaces Jason Miller who is leaving to join a tech start up.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has signed a two-book deal with Simon and Schuster but faced a backlash from staff, who accused the publisher of peddling bigotry
He was responding to claims that publishers were reluctant to sign him up.
'It would be too hard to get a book that was factually accurate, actually,' an industry figure told the publication.
'That would be the problem. If he can’t even admit that he lost the election, then how do you publish that?'
Trump's vice president Mike Pence has signed a seven-figure deal for two books with Simon and Schuster.
However, that triggered an employee revolt and staff circulated a petition accusing the publisher of promoting bigotry.
Earlier Trump named Republican veteran Liz Harrington as his new spokesperson.
'Liz Harrington is a fighter,' he said.
'She was an important part of our receiving more votes than any incumbent President in U.S. history, far more than we received the first time we won.'
Harrington is the former national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, editor-in-chief of ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon's Warroom.org, and senior writer for the Washington Free Beacon.
'It is an honor of a lifetime to represent President Trump and to stand for the truth,' she said.
'At such a critical time for our country, President Trump’s fighting spirit is needed now more than ever. We will not stand idly by and let America fall to the radical left-wing mob.'
Miller had held the role since Trump left office in January, helping build a new political operation first at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and then at Bedminster, New Jersey.
Jason Miller was Trump's spokesman since leaving the White House. He is understood to be moving to become chief executive of a tech start-up that is working on a social media platform
Raucous, freewheeling allies were a key part of Trump's rise to power and popular appeal, generating hours of free airtime. He is expected to hold his first rally since leaving the White House in the Cleveland area on June 26 followed by another rally in the Tampa area on July 3
'I greatly thank Jason for his service - he is outstanding,' said Trump in a statement announcing the change.
Miller is taking up a job in the private sector, joining a company that owns one of the social media companies being considered by Trump for his new platform.
Trump is expected to hold his first rally since leaving power in the Cleveland area on June 26 That will be followed by a second rally in the Tampa area on July 3, according to an aide familiar with the planning.
They will be his first rallies since appearing before supporters on Jan. 6 when an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol.
He has continued to protest his election loss to President Joe Biden and had criticized the new administration on everything from immigration to the COVID-19 pandemic during interviews and a handful of speeches.
But he also teased his return to rallies which an aide said would likely resemble the airport rallies conducted last year to skirt coronavirus restrictions.
'We'll be doing one in Florida, we're going to do one in Ohio, we're going to do one in North Carolina,' he told One America news in May.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of running for the White House again in 2024 although insiders say they do not expect him to take a decision before feeling out the political currents during next year's midterms.
On Monday, he marked his 75th birthday at his New Jersey golf club.
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