In a move that has likely left the White House disappointed, publisher Simon and Schuster has departed from plans to publish a new book about President Joe Biden. 

According to Politico contributor Daniel Lippman, the book was written by Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson.

Books about Biden have "sold relatively poorly"

Thompson originally signed a deal with Simone and Schuster in February of 2021 when he touted his work as being "a comprehensive book on Biden’s presidency."

The author pledged that his work would be "filled with fresh reporting and informed by his work covering the president and the White House transition."

SCOOP: In another sign of the soft Biden book market, Simon and Schuster has withdrawn its contract with Axios’ Alex Thompson for a book about the Biden administration, two sources told me. The book was originally scheduled to be published early this year. https://t.co/IC0pMnDxKj pic.twitter.com/qKy1vr8IoC

— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) March 27, 2024

However, Lippman noted that books about the president have "sold relatively poorly" compared to those which centered on his successor.

Lippman cited an unnamed source as saying that Thompson "is now actively engaged in talks with other publishers" as he works to complete a draft.

Author's book about Hillary Clinton was much more popular

This is not the first time that an author has had difficulty in generating interest for a book about the president, as Lippman noted last year how NBC News correspondent Jonathan Allen faced a similar struggle.

Allen's "Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency" failed to land on the New York Times best-seller list and sold less than 10,000 copies between its publication in March of 2023 and September of that year.

Its performance stands in sharp contrast with that of "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign," an earlier book Allen co-authored with journalist Amie Parnes.

Lippman pointed out how "Shattered" managed to see over 125,000 copies sold and garnered widespread media attention.

Publisher: Biden "never does anything interesting"

Eric Nelson heads Broadside Books, a conservative subsidiary of HarperCollins, and he said lack of interest in Biden is partly due to the fact that he "never does anything interesting."

"The Hunter Biden stuff has done pretty well, because he's appropriately interesting. But Hunter Biden is not the president," Nelson added.

One conservative publisher who spoke to Lippman on the condition of anonymity said, "If your nickname is Sleepy Joe, you kind of have to simultaneously say this person is ruining everything and is supremely evil, but also he’s inept and that’s sort of a challenging combination."