For most of the Trump presidency, former White House Counsel Kellyanne Conway became known as a frequent guest on TV news.
However, she has maintained a low profile since leaving the Trump administration amid family drama.
Now she’s ready to spill. Conway has written a book due for release on May 24.
The book, Here’s the Deal, is billed by her publisher as a look beyond the headlines about former President Donald Trump and her family life, including her husband and prominent Trump detractor, George Conway.
“Who she is, how she did it, and who tried to stop her is a fascinating story of personal triumph and political intrigue that has never been told… until now,” the publisher wrote. “Donald Trump asked her to run his presidential campaign. She agreed, delivering him to the White House, becoming the first woman in American history to manage a winning presidential campaign, and changing the American landscape forever.
The publisher added in a Wednesday announcement, “Kellyanne became a fulcrum between the see-sawing demands of a West Wing job in one of the most consequential eras in our history, motherhood to four school-age children, and marriage to a man who suddenly went from an ardent supporter of his wife and the President to one of the administration’s most caustic and constant public critics.”
One publishing official privy to the negotiations told The Associated Press that Conway’s book deal was worth more than $1 million, excluding any profits. The official was not authorized to discuss financial terms publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Here’s the Deal had been rumored for more than a year, and it was finally announced Wednesday by Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster. Threshold has previously published published Trump’s campaign book Crippled America, later retitled Great Again in 2015.
As a counselor, Conway became the subject of a yearslong debate over who should appear as a guest on news programs.
In 2019, CNN host and alleged sexual harasser Don Lemon said it was “beneath the dignity of this network” to interview Conway. Shortly after that, newscaster Dana Bash featured Conway in a segment for her ongoing series Badass Women of Washington… on the same network.
Despite the controversy, Conway appeared frequently on the television news. Always recognizable, she quickly became the face of Trump’s White House, outlasting most of her contemporaries. Eventually, her husband made a career as a “Never Trump” commentator, and her teenager daughter threatened legal emancipation due to political differences. In this context, she left the White House after three and a half years.
Asked whether Simon & Schuster had fact-checked Here’s the Deal, a spokesperson responded, “We will let the release speak for itself.”
Publishers rarely fact-check memoirs due to their limited amount of time and money, according to the AP. Plus, a reasonable reader can assume that memoirs, unlike straight autobiographies, contain a creative element.
“We will only add that Kellyanne has worked hard through multiple drafts to provide an accurate portrayal of her life and her time in the White House,” the spokesperson said.
Some employees of Simon & Schuster have expressed discontent with the publisher over reports of Conway’s book deal. They’ve also complained about the publishing house’s seven-figure deal with former Vice President Mike Pence.
Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp said at a meeting last year that it was important to present a range of perspectives. However, he impose some limits. Karp became CEO in 2020, and as of 2021 he remains opposed to releasing a memoir by Trump.
Predictably, some anti-Trump voices went on Twitter to criticize Conway’s book deal.
Take a look —
This ⬇️ actually worked in 1978 https://t.co/EnjIjvc0UT
— Taking Action 4 US 🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦🇩🇪📚📗📖 (@takingaction4us) January 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/Sebastian2Blue/status/1486709849249386500
The Associated Press contributed to this article.