Show an ad over header. AMP

I am the FIRST!!!

Trump has given at least 22 interviews for 17 different books since leaving office

Former President Trump has given at least 22 interviews for 17 different books since leaving office, with authors lining up at Mar-a-Lago as he labors to shape a coming tsunami of Trump tomes, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Trump advisers see the coming book glut as proof that interest in "POTUS 45," as they call him, has never been higher. These advisers know that most of the books will paint a mixed picture, at best. But Trump is working the refs with charm, spin and dish.


Offering Diet Cokes and dressed in suit and tie, Trump spent an average of about 90 minutes with each of the authors, some of whom were invited to stay and eat dinner at Mar-a-Lago (although not with him).

  • The interviews are mostly on the record, for use when the books publish. So Trump, who has rarely been heard on non-Fox outlets since leaving office, will see himself quoted constantly over the next year.

Between the lines: Sources tell me Trump makes each author feel they're getting something special. And some of them are: Many of the nuggets will definitely make news. But there appears to be quite a bit of overlap in the "scoops" Trump is dishing out.

  • There's intense jockeying among the authors over several publishing-date logjams in the coming 18 months, with Michael Wolff's "Landslide" currently in pole position (July 27). The book many Trump insiders are awaiting most is Maggie Haberman's, due next year.

Jonathan Karl of ABC News — whose first Trump book, "Front Row at the Trump Show," was a New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback — spent five hours at Mar-a-Lago, including about 90 minutes on the record with Trump.

  • Karl, who has also interviewed numerous Trump Cabinet members, told me: "If you thought there was no more to know, it’s been mind-blowing."

More interviews are likely (including one with Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg), and several authors who've had one interview may get a second dip. Trump personally made all these decisions on who to see.

  • Five authors have gotten two interviews: Michael Wolff ... Maggie Haberman ... former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway ... Wall Street Journal's Michael Bender, whose book is scheduled for Aug. 10 ... and The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway, whose "Rigged" is due Sept. 21.
  • Trump has given one interview each to about a dozen other book projects (several with joint authors): WashPost's Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig ... Susan Glasser and Peter Baker ... Jon Karl ... Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns ... Ryan Lizza and Olivia Nuzzi ... Washington Examiner's David Drucker ... N.Y. Post's Miranda Devine — whose "Laptop from Hell," about Hunter Biden — is coming Sept. 7 ... N.Y. Times' Jeremy Peters ... Ari Fleischer — whose "Broken," about the press in the Trump era and beyond — will be out in 2022 ... Variety's Ramin Setoodeh, writing about "The Apprentice" ... and The Federalist's Ben Weingarten, writing on U.S.-China policy.
  • Trump said "no" to the book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

The bottom line: No slowdown in sight for Trump headlines.

📚 What'd we miss? Drop me a line (mike@axios.com) with your book tip.

regular 4 post ff

infinite scroll 4 pff

Canada's military joining firefighting efforts as dozens of wildfires rip through west

The Canadian Armed Forces are being called in to help combat dozens of wildfires in western Canada that have sparked evacuation orders and caused the deaths of at least two people, per CTV News.

What's happening: 172 wildfires are burning across British Columbia following the Pacific Northwest's record heat wave, per the BC Wildfire Service.

Keep reading...Show less

G20 leaders back global tax deal

Finance ministers from the world's 20 largest economies backed a proposal on Saturday that seeks to introduce an international tax on multinational companies and sets a global minimum tax rate of 15%, Politico reports.

Why it matters: If enacted, the reform could alter who gets to tax multinational corporations and "stop multinationals from shifting profits into tax havens," Politico reports.

Keep reading...Show less

Biden backs protests in Cuba, calls on officials to "hear their people"

President Biden said Monday he supports the Cuban people and their "clarion call for freedom and relief," amid massive protests on the island against the government and food and medicine shortages during the pandemic.

What he's saying: "The Cuban people are bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights. Those rights, including the right of peaceful protest and the right to freely determine their own future, must be respected," the president said in a statement.

Keep reading...Show less

Tropical Storm Henri barrels into southern New England with damaging winds, flooding

Tropical Storm Henri, with maximum sustained winds down only slightly from hurricane intensity, is walloping southern New England with damaging winds, storm surge flooding, and torrential rainfall.

The big picture: The storm has slowed down slightly and taken a well-advertised turn towards the northwest as it approaches eastern Long Island, southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island, taking a north-northwesterly path toward the coast.

Keep reading...Show less

Insights

mail-copy

Get Goodhumans in your inbox

Most Read

More Stories
<!ENTITY lol2 “&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;&lol;“> <!ENTITY lol3 “&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;&lol2;“> <!ENTITY lol4 “&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;&lol3;“> ]> &lol4;