A memoir by a fired former deputy director of the FBI? In normal times, it might not attract much attention. But in the Trump years, it becomes a best seller.
Andrew McCabe’s “The Threat” reached No. 1 on Amazon’s best selling books list on Monday, one day before its official release. “The Threat” bumped Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming,” which has been at the top of the chart almost every day since it came out last November.
Sales have been fueled by McCabe’s interview on “60 Minutes,” excerpts published by numerous news outlets, and a controversy over his criticism of President Donald Trump. It is just the latest in a long line of books to benefit from interest and fears about the Trump presidency.
The president’s anti-McCabe tweets may have boosted sales, too, although it’s hard to say for sure.
The tweets certainly drove additional news coverage, causing heightened awareness of the book.
Appearing on “The View” on Tuesday morning, McCabe bemoaned Trump’s “blatantly false” tweets.
“The president has been lying about me and my family for the last two years,” he said.
Co-host Ana Navarro, who is also a CNN commentator, put a positive spin on it: “When Trump tweets against you, don’t get sad, honey. Get happy,” she said.”It’s the best thing that can happen for your book sales.”
As the audience laughed and applauded, McCabe said, “I suppose that’s possible.”
On Tuesday the book slipped to No. 2 on Amazon’s constantly-updated best sellers list, but it remained No. 1 on the list of new releases. (Tuesday’s No. 1 book on Amazon is the three-year-old memoir “Five Presidents” by veteran Secret Service agent Clint Hill. The sudden rush of sales was thanks to a Facebook post by TV host Mike Rowe, who described a chance encounter with Hill. Rowe encouraged people to buy Hill’s book, and the Facebook post went viral, with 175,000 shares so far.)
The book is also in the top five on the Barnes and Noble website.
“The Threat” — filled with serious warnings about dysfunction inside the Trump White House and the Justice Department — was acquired by St. Martin’s Press last fall. It was originally going to come out in December, but the FBI’s required pre-publication review process took longer than expected.
Once the new February release date was set, McCabe’s team set up an enviable rollout schedule. The book launch began with a two-part feature on “60 Minutes,” the most watched news program in the country.
On Sunday night, it was also the highest-rated show of any kind on network TV.
McCabe was live on the “Today” show and “The View” on Tuesday. He will also speak with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360” Tuesday night. And he is booked on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
