While several former officials from the Trump administration are cashing in on their time via book deals and new media careers, the 45th president of the US will likely pursue a self-publishing deal, according to an unnamed publishing executive.
They explained to Politico that Trump's decision is likely due to a lack of interest from the 'Big Five' publishing houses in the US: Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
"My suspicion is Trump is self-publishing because he doesn’t want the humiliation of getting a smaller advance than he has before or anyone finding out that it is smaller than Obama’s," said the unnamed executive.
"I imagine that’s as big a part of it as anything," they added.
The executive's theory comes not long after Trump launched his own private media venture: Trump Media and Technology Group.
Despite current reports about a poor relationship with publishers, Trump - with the help of multiple ghostwriters - is said to have authored more than a dozen books on business and real estate that bear his name.
While former US Vice President Mike Pence has secured a multi-book deal with Simon & Schuster, it was reported earlier this year that the 'Big Five' publishers had concerns about the ethics behind Trump's potential to disseminate conspiracy theories and his spread of misinformation about the 2020 US presidential election.
"If he can’t even admit that he lost the election, then how do you publish that?” questioned a publishing industry official.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), a US lawmaker who also contested the results of the election, also missed out on a book opportunity after he was dropped by Simon & Schuster. The US senator from Missouri had been set to release a book on antitrust.
At the time, Hawley described the cancellation of his writings as "Orwellian" and a "direct assault on the First Amendment" of the US Constitution.