Amid a weeks-long government shutdown and peace talks in the Middle East, President Donald Trump decided it would be a great time to promote his son Eric’s new book. And to be fair, the book, Under Siege: My Family’s Fight to Save Our Nation, did happen to come out on October 14. But that didn’t stop critics from accusing the Trump family of “grifting” once again.
Days before Eric’s book came out, the president announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire deal. About 20 minutes before promoting his son’s book, he shared an update on Truth Social. “ALL TWENTY HOSTAGES ARE BACK AND FEELING AS GOOD AS CAN BE EXPECTED,” he wrote. “A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED! Phase Two begins right NOW!!! President DJT.”
Then, in a subsequent post, he encouraged people to buy his son’s book. “Don’t forget to get a copy of my son Eric’s book, ‘UNDER SIEGE,’ which is breaking records everywhere,” Trump wrote. “It’s a phenomenal book, that’s a must read for everyone—Congratulations Eric, you deserve it!!!”
It’s unclear which records Eric is breaking with his new book. On the day it was released, Eric shared a video that showed him signing copies of the book at a Barnes & Noble store in Palm Beach Gardens. In the video, he said he was “with an amazing group of people,” but no one else appeared on camera. To many social media users, the store looked totally empty. “Bunch of signed books here,” Eric said. “First come first serve.”
Today is the day! Under Siege is OUT and I stopped by my local @barnesandnoble to sign some copies. Stop by the Palm Beach Gardens store to find your signed copy 👀🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/qfofSyT6hl
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) October 14, 2025
Though some people let Eric know that they purchased his book and were eager to read it, others roasted him. One critic suggested that purchasing at Barnes & Noble would not be necessary. “Look for it at your local Dollar Tree this Holiday season!” they wrote. Others called him a “grifter” and noticed how it looked like “nobody was there.”
One of the critics who was not at all impressed by the book release was California Governor Gavin Newsom. On X, Newsom’s press office shared Eric’s video, writing, “The Government is shut down, people are getting laid off, health care is becoming more expensive and the ‘ruling’ family is out promoting their next grift.“
It’s certainly not the first time the Trump family has been accused of grifting. Though promoting your son’s book when there are so many things going on in the world is certainly a choice, it might not seem all that unusual coming from Trump. On the same day that he posted about Eric’s book, he also wrote about how he “just got back from the Middle East” and how Time magazine published a “really weird” photo of him.
“Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time,” he wrote that same day. “They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”
