Donald Trump is preparing to sit down for 12 different interviews in the next six weeks with people writing books about his time as president.
‘Donald doesn’t believe in the concept of ‘no comment,’ former senior White House official Omarosa Manigault Newman told Politico in a Wednesday report.
‘He feels like there will always be one side of the audience who sympathizes with him,’ she continued. ‘So it’s not surprising to me that every one of these book interviews he’s going to sit through and think he has the power to manipulate the authors and try to influence them.’
Manigault Newman wrote best-seller ‘Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House,’ after she was ousted from the West Wing in Trump’s first year in office.
Trump’s Senior Advisor Jason Miller and Trump spokesperson Margo Martin are expected to monitor the individual interviews, two sources familiar with the planning revealed.
A former Trump aide added: ‘It’s important for him to control his own narrative and utilize these mediums to share his thoughts and correct the record.’
Allies are concerned that the former president opening up to so many authors will lessen his chances of being able to monetize his own memoir of his time as president – should he choose to write a book on it.
Donald Trump will spend the next six weeks in 12 different interviews with those writing books on his political career, time in the White House and 2020 campaign
In the next few weeks, Trump is expected to meet with reporters who spent the last several years tracking his political career or covering his presidency and reelection effort.
‘We are not discussing particulars of any individual book interviews that President Trump is giving but it’s safe to say that he remains the hottest name in politics and he’s the interview that everyone wants,’ Miller said.
He added: ‘We’re tracking nearly three dozen post-presidency books where he will be the star.’
These sit-downs will include meeting with The New York Times’ political campaigns reporter Jeremy Peters and White House correspondent Maggie Haberman; The Wall Street Journal’s White House reporter Michael Bender; ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl; and The Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief Philip Rucker and investigative journalist Carol Leonnig.
Some authors are looking to capitalize on Trump’s controversial political career by writing a sequel, including ‘Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’ author Michael Wolff, who Trump also plans to interview with.
A person familiar with Trump’s thinking told Politico that while there aren’t any immediate plans or discussions about the former president writing his own book, he still may write his own account of his time in Washington.
Also, by choosing to engage in so many interviews for upcoming books – especially with journalists who covered the Trump White House – a mad dash could ensue for publishing houses trying to get books ready for distribution the quickest.
It’s clear the former president is trying to keep himself in the political conversation as evident by his agreement to do interviews about his time in office and his preview last month at the Conservative Political Action Committee where he all but announced a 2024 run for the White House.
Before becoming president, Trump penned nearly two dozen books with the help of ghostwriters – mostly on business matters.
While president, Trump sat down for several book interviews.
A person familiar with his thinking on the subject said Trump is enthusiastic to get involved in books highlighting his time in the White House.
During his four years, a plethora of tell-alls and other books were published focusing on Trump the politician and president. He took issue with many of these accounts, especially those from outside observers and disgruntled former employees.
Some of these tell-all books from ex-administration employees include former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton’s memoir ‘The Room Where it Happened’, former FBI Director James Comey’s book ‘A Higher Loyalty’, and ‘A Warning,’ which was originally published under the name ‘Anonymous’ and was later revealed to be Trump Homeland Security appointee Miles Taylor.
Outsider books include Bob Woodward’s ‘Fear: Trump in the White House’ and ‘Rage and Michael Wolff’s ‘Fire and Fury’.
Several former Trump aides and allies, and some outsiders, wrote best-selling books about the former president’s time in Washington
Some of Trump’s loyal allies are also working on books, including former Press Secretaries Sean Spicer and Sarah Sanders, Trump campaign aides David Bossie and Coret Lewandowski, former White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway and the former president’s eldest son Doanld Trump Jr.
Don Jr. has penned two political books while Trump was in the Oval.
ONLY GOOD BOOKS — ‘Trump set to do at least 12 book interviews in the coming weeks,’ by Meridith McGraw and Gabby Orr: ‘The sheer number of book interviews is so massive that some in his orbit worry he may be doing too many and hurting his ability to monetize his own recollections for a book of his own, should he choose to write one.
— PAGE SIX’S CINDY ADAMS: ‘Kellyanne Conway spins White House stint into multimillion-dollar book deal’