Former Vice President Mike Pence’s memoir will be published on Nov. 15, the Associated Press reports.
Publisher Simon & Schuster announced the release date for the book, which had been previously scheduled for publication in 2023, as well as its title, So Help Me God.
Pence’s memoir was announced in April 2021; it’s part of a two-book deal that is reportedly worth $4 million. The deal was instantly controversial, with Simon & Schuster employees penning an open letter urging its cancellation, citing Pence’s “career…discriminating against marginalized groups and denying resources to BIPOC and LGBTQA+ communities.”
Simon & Schuster defended the book deal. The publisher’s CEO, Jonathan Karp, wrote a letter to the workers that read in part, “We come to work each day to publish, not cancel, which is the most extreme decision a publisher can make, and one that runs counter to the very core of our mission to publish a diversity of voices and perspectives.”
Pence’s book, the publisher says, is “the most robust defense of the Trump record of anyone who served in the administration” but “also chronicles President Trump’s severing of their relationship on January 6, 2021, when Pence kept his oath to the Constitution.”
The timing of the book’s publication, set for one week after the midterm elections, is bound to fuel speculation that Pence might be planning a presidential run in 2024. The former vice president has been keeping a busy schedule with speeches and appearances across the country, although a recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that only 6% of GOP voters would pull the lever for Pence if the primary were held today.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
