Trump's team asked 'for a cut' of his White House photographer's book deal before he sold his own version for $230: NYT
- Former President Donald Trump reportedly cut his White House photographer out of a book deal.
- Trump ended up using the photos for his own book, selling for up to $230 a copy, per the NYT.
Normally, one of the perks of being an official White House photographer is the ability to publish a comprehensive book of never-before-seen photos once that president's time in office ends.
That was not the case for former Trump White House photographer Shealah Craighead, according to The New York Times.
While photographers under former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush allowed and even encouraged such projects by writing the forward for them — a polite gesture for the photographers after keeping them away from their families with late nights and foreign trips — Trump wanted a different arrangement, per the Times.
"First, aides to Mr. Trump asked her for a cut of her book advance payment, in exchange for his writing a forward and helping promote the book, according to former associates of Mr. Trump," the Times reported.
It then got worse for Craighead when Trump went ahead and published his own book anyway, with many of her photos included, selling for up to $230 per copy, according to the article.
"It's a slap in the face," former White House photographer Eric Draper, who served as former President Bush's chief photographer, told the Times. "I would be disappointed if I were in her shoes."
Stephanie Grisham, Trump's former press secretary who wrote scathing accounts of her old boss and White House colleagues, told the Times that it was sad but also not surprising that Craighead was taken advantage of.
"Shea's a very talented photographer and this was really all of her hard work," Stephanie Grisham said. "I just keep thinking: What a shame that he is actually now profiting off of it. But then again, this is the guy who is hawking caps and all kinds of stuff right now to raise money for himself."