Trump says he has rejected book deals from ‘two of the biggest and most prestigious publishing houses’

Former President Trump said he rejected book deals from “two of the biggest and most prestigious publishing houses” amid a report that top publishing companies are skeptical of landing a deal with him for a post-White House memoir.

“Two of the biggest and most prestigious publishing houses have made very substantial offers which I have rejected. That doesn’t mean I won’t accept them sometime in the future, as I have started writing the book,” Trump said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.

The statement, first reported by Politico, comes amid a report from the news organization that major publishing houses in the U.S. are wary of teaming up with the former president to publish a potential book.

Politico reported Tuesday that the underlying factor driving the companies’ caution is the fear that the content in the book would not be accurate.

Trump first revealed last week that he had “turned down two book deals, from the most unlikely of publishers, in that I do not want to do such a deal right now.”

He claimed that he was “writing like crazy anyway” and added that “when the time comes, you’ll see the book of all books.”

Politico, however, reached out to top officials at the “Big Five” publishing houses — Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster — to inquire about potential offers to the former president. 

None of the sources Politico spoke to said they were aware of any deals being offered to Trump, and most of them said they would not be interested if the former president looks for a publishing house.

Trump, however, suggested that publishing houses will be interested in printing his book because of the profit he says it will bring in.

“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?” Trump wrote.

“Some of the biggest sleezebags on earth run these companies. No morals, no nothing, just the bottom line,” he added.

The Hill reached out to Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster for comment.

Politico did note, however, that some conservative publishing houses may be interested in a post-White House Trump memoir.

The option to self-publish is also on the table. Donald Trump Jr. self-published his book “Liberal Privilege: Joe Biden and the Democrats’ Defense of the Indefensible” last year.

Trump is the author of more than a dozen books, including “The Art of the Deal,” published by Random House in 1987.

Tony Schwartz, the book’s ghost writer, however, later said the book was a fictionalized portrayal, according to Politico.