The White House has done little to prepare for the upcoming release of former FBI Director James Comey's memoir, Politico reports.
President Donald Trump is set to visit South America and then with the Japanese Prime Minister at Mar-a-Lago in the next two weeks, which senior White House aides hope these trips will provide a distraction and show that Trump is unconcerned about the book.
Comey's book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth Lies and Leadership" has already risen close to the top of Amazon'a bestseller list about a week ahead of release,
"The White House should recognize this will be a No. 1 nationwide bestseller. They cannot talk it off the bestseller list," said Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary for George W. Bush, to Politico.
"Nothing they do will increase sales for it, they'll already be sky high. That ship's sailed. This book is selling, so there's merit in responding and no downside in responding."
He added, "This is just so red hot, the White House must respond itself, along with surrogates, but they can't just rely on surrogates."
"Inevitably there is a mistake in a book, an admission of wrongdoing in a book, an Achilles heel in a book and that's what the White House is going to want to focus on," Fleischer said.
"For example, the role Comey played in the 2016 election. That is a very legitimate issue on which Comey is weak. And that's something the White House could talk about. His investigation of Hillary, that's something the White House could talk about."
One unnamed former official in Trump's White House said that Comey's book will contain "something more damaging" than just gossip.
"Jim Comey is someone who is extremely dramatic, and he's an extremely good storyteller," the official said. "He's someone who can drive a narrative and keep the camera's interest."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.