The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Anti-Trump Book Is Spectacular Flop

Posted on | November 7, 2019 | 1 Comment

 

Book sales nowadays are often a reflection of celebrity: If you’ve got a hit TV show, a publisher will pay you big bucks in advance for a book and hire a ghostwriter to put it together for you, on the theory that your fans will all pay $24.95 for anything with your picture on the cover. So what happens after a celebrity loses their TV platform?

Disgraced former MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin’s book How to Beat Trump: America’s Top Political Strategists On What It Will Take sold 502 copies during its first week, according to NPD BookScan’s Wednesday report.
Not many Americans purchased Halperin’s book this week despite the description on Amazon that claims, “more than 100 million anxious Americans want to know: how can Donald Trump be beaten in 2020 and evicted from the White House?”
Just six reviews of the book have been posted to Amazon, one of which is titled “Write what you know, Mark.” In it, user Ball Student wrote, “He’d be better off avoiding speculation and sticking to areas he has extensive experience in: groping female employees.”
Halperin has faced numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault, and the news of his book contract with Regan Arts has drawn a substantial backlash. CNN reported that 12 women came forward publicly to accuse Halperin of sexual harassment or assault, which he denied.
Journalist Emily Miller, who worked with Halperin at ABC News, criticized anyone aiding him because she said it undermines the victims who came forward.
“Every person who’s helping him regain power and a public platform is complicit in re-traumatizing all the victims,” Miller said.
“Men like him don’t change,” she said. “He spent decades using his position of power in the media to sexually assault women. He hasn’t even apologized to his victims.”
Former CNN producer Eleanor McManus, who also said she was victimized by Halperin, criticized Regan Arts for signing him to a book deal despite his refusal to apologize.
“He has yet to take responsibility for his actions by apologizing to his victims or demonstrating genuine contrition,” McManus said. “Giving him a book once again puts him in a position of authority and that is a slap to all the women that he has victimized.”
NBC News terminated Halperin in light of the allegations. He has since started his own political blog.

Do you think a big New York publisher would give me a book deal? I’ve never been on MSNBC, but at the same time, I haven’t been accused of groping a dozen women. Not yet, anyway. But I digress . . .

My point, however, is that when Mark Halperin became a New York Times bestselling author in 2010, he was a member in good standing of the liberal media and a regular guest on Morning Joe. Then the #MeToo movement destroyed his reputation and now? Welcome to Flop City.

Sic transit gloria mundi.


 

Comments

One Response to “Anti-Trump Book Is Spectacular Flop”

  1. Bacon Time !!!!!!
    November 10th, 2019 @ 3:03 am

    […] The Other McCain:  Anti-Trump Book Is Spectacular Flop […]