Dear Donald: Trumps next book shares nearly 150 private letters

[ad_1]

Comment on this story

Comment

Five months after leaving office, former president Donald Trump received a birthday greeting from a powerful friend in Hungary.

In a world where the notion of homeland is fading, where the nation is pushed aside by ideologies there the survival of nations depends on strong, decisive leaders of great standing, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote. I am convinced that you have become the President of the United States at a critical time when your country is most in need.

Orban added, I sincerely hope that we will also have the opportunity to work together for our common goals in the future.

The effusive missive proved prescient, as Trump, as a private citizen, endorsed Orbans 2022 re-election and then met with the Hungarian leader at the Trump National Golf Club. And it might have been lost in history if not for Trumps latest photo book project, Letters to Trump, which will be released on April 25. The book recreates nearly 150 letters he received or sent during his career as a businessman, celebrity and politician.

Those letters include notes from pop star Michael Jackson, former president Richard M. Nixon and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who joked in 2000 about the two celebrities running for office as a team. The book also contains letters from during and after Trumps time in the White House, featuring world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, former British prime minister Boris Johnson and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as well as letters from Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea. (Axios first reported the books’ release, including a photo of the note from Winfrey.)

In a phone interview Thursday about the book, Trump said he continues to make a point of fostering good relations with world leaders. He noted that Orban gave him an award when they met last year.

I have maintained relationships with a few of them. And, you know, I think it’s good for the campaign, Trump said. The tougher they are, the better I get along with, and maybe in some ways that’s a good thing because the tougher ones are the leaders of the more powerful countries.

The book includes the letter former president Barack Obama left at the White House for Trump, which was previously published, but does not include the note Trump wrote for President Biden. Trump said the release of that letter was out of his purview.

I wrote him a letter. This is a very good letter, Trump said. I thought about doing this. I really thought it was something that was up to him to do. This is a private letter.

What do presidents, royals, celebrities and business titans have in common? They all love Donald Trump, said Sergio Gor, president of Winning Team Publishing. Long before entering politics, Donald Trump lived an extraordinary life. No book highlights his iconic relationships like Letters to Trump, and we’re thrilled to be able to share it with our readers.

Winning Team Publishing, also the publisher of Trumps first post-presidency photo book, Our Journey Together, was founded in 2021 by Donald Trump Jr. and Gor, a former Trump campaign aide. Besides the former president, the current list of authors includes Trump Jr., conservative activist Charlie Kirk, former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro.

Our Journey Together collects images captured by White House staff photographers during Trumps presidency, with captions written by him. Posts book critic Ron Charles noted in his review that only 20 of the photos included captions written with the famous Sharpie; most were simply typed in a fontastic italic meant to convey Trumps bold persona. The former president received a multimillion-dollar advance for the book. Sales reached $20 million within months of its publication, and Gor said in February 2022 that the initial print run of 200,000 had sold out.

That title currently retails for $74.99 ($290 for a copy signed by Trump; $199 for a copy signed by Don Jr.). Letters to Trump cost $99 ($399 for an edition signed by Trump). No personalized or special messages are possible, says the publishers’ site, WinningPublishing.com, and all sales are final.

A note to our readers

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites.

[ad_2]