My absurd experiences in North America over the years

CP picked up his water glass, took a sip, and his expression was very calm.

"Using book royalties to improve the local situation is indeed a good idea, but it's probably just a drop in the ocean!"

He has published several books before, all of which were bestsellers, with royalties reaching a maximum of a few million dollars. This book might sell even better, but he doesn't think the royalties will be much higher.

This amount of money, if used to improve the current state of the Great Lakes Rust Belt, will likely only make a small ripple.

"What matters is not how much money it will cost, but your attitude," Li Fu offered another perspective. "What they want is attention and care. Even a simple word of concern can have a different meaning from their perspective."

CP clearly understands this well; he had just been thinking differently, but upon hearing Li Fu's words, he immediately nodded in agreement.

When it comes to how to utilize public opinion, how to use his affability to win people's hearts, and how to get the redneck group to support him, there are probably few people in the world who understand this better than him.

"That's right, then donate it all," he said, waving his hand.

"I must remind you that this book may be your best-selling and most influential book to date. Once you decide to donate it to projects that improve people's lives around the Great Lakes, you must keep your word. This is a matter of political credibility."

Li Fu was clearly aware of the influence of his book, "The Country Man's Elegy," which had long dominated the bestseller list and accumulated sales of three million copies in just a few years.

The author was Vance, who was relatively unknown at the time.

If the author were to change the attribution to CP, doubling the number of views would be no problem at all. If he were to use forum and newspaper channels for promotion, this would become a phenomenal work.

Copyright taxes are definitely not just a few million dollars; they could be much higher.

CP is very likely to back out because the amount is so huge; after all, he's capable of doing something like that.

"How much do you estimate there will be?" CP immediately became interested upon hearing this, as he genuinely believed that Li Fu was at least half a prophet.

"More than twenty million US dollars," Li Fu roughly calculated based on a book price of $29.99.

During this period, a 400-page hardcover political book typically cost between $28 and $30 in the United States. To reflect the significant status of *Hillbilly Elegy*, a price of $29.99 was entirely reasonable.

Top-selling authors typically receive royalties on a tiered system: 10% for the first 5,000 books, rising to 12.5% ​​thereafter, and 15% for more than 15,000 books.

It shouldn't be a problem for CP to sell 200 million more copies than Vance, which would bring in over 2000 million in royalties.

If you add paperback, e-book, and audiobook versions, there will be even more.

Besides, Big Head also has the film and television adaptation rights!

Li Fu recalled that The Country Folk's Lament eventually sold for about $4500 million, which he could acquire with MGM in advance.

In other words, it is reasonable for CP to have earned more than $3000 million from this book, which is far higher than his previous record of more than $500 million.

CP fell silent after hearing this. This was probably twenty million US dollars, a huge sum of money for anyone.

"OK, since I've already said it, let's do as you say," he patted Li Fu on the shoulder. It must have hurt, but money can't be earned forever, so he could only console himself with that thought.

Li Fu leaned back on the sofa and said with great interest, "I have another suggestion for you. You could put a sentence on the title page of this book, or in the last paragraph. That should create a sensation."

"That line?" CP became interested.

"Make America Great Again," Li Fu uttered a phrase that would later become famous worldwide.

Make America Great Again.

This phrase was not an original creation of the CP, but rather a campaign slogan of Lonner Reagan in 1980.

At that time, the United States faced double-digit inflation and bank interest rates as high as 20%, while the economy was in recession and growth was stagnant, with the official number of unemployed reaching nearly 800 million.

The detention of 52 Americans for 444 days during the Iranian hostage crisis severely damaged public confidence.

At the same time, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union entered its most intense phase, and the Soviet Union's overall national strength reached its peak. Its Zapad-81 military exercise once simulated sweeping across Europe with a steel torrent in 8 days, leaving NATO observers dumbfounded.

The United States, on the other hand, experienced the defeat in the Vietnam War, a decline in national power, and a situation where the Soviet Union was on the offensive and the United States was on the defensive.

Reagan used this slogan during his campaign, intending to turn the tide and restore America's former glory.

However, he proposed it at the Republican National Convention, which had limited influence due to the historical context and occasion, unlike the later CP which mobilized hundreds of millions of voters and made MAGA resound throughout the world.

Of course, CP had never thought of using this phrase as a slogan before.

He paused for a moment when he heard Li Fu say this slogan, and then sat up straight.

He felt that the slogan was incredibly fitting for the occasion.

"Make America Great Again..."

CP repeated the words to himself twice and then began pacing back and forth in the study.

"Yes, that's the slogan we should be chanting. We're still recovering from the financial crisis, unemployment is near double digits, and people's quality of life has severely declined... It's time to make America great again..."

Looking at CP's expression, Li Fu didn't add anything further.

His reaction spoke for itself; his eyes shone like the sun when he heard those words, which was more convincing than any data.

"You're a genius!" CP said excitedly. "Once this book is officially published, I'm going to arrange a book signing in Ohio. You absolutely have to come and support me."

"I'll do my best to arrange it," Li Fu agreed.

However, whether he went or not depended on how tense the political situation was at the time.

CP nodded, turned and walked towards the door. He couldn't wait to hold a political rally so that everyone would remember his words.

During their conversation, the right-wing propaganda attacks from Japan intensified.

Online tabloids have also published numerous posts and comments smearing and boycotting the film Hacksaw Ridge, claiming it is a film that seriously violates historical facts and promotes war.

Although it wasn't reported by mainstream media, it still created a huge mess.

Twitter, as a social media platform, spreads information extremely quickly. The articles Thompson had printed out and sent over were some of the opinions that spread virally.

Li Fu initially ignored it, wanting to let this smear campaign reach a certain climax before unleashing his trump card.

His trump card was Gadot's Jewish identity.

Gal Gadot joined the cast of Hacksaw Ridge, and the deliberate delay in making it official was all for this moment.

He first had the production team release the prepared official announcement on Twitter and the entertainment sections of mainstream media, and then uploaded some exciting behind-the-scenes footage of Gadot on online media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Finally, they began a reverse propaganda attack, angrily denouncing the people behind the smear campaign against Hacksaw Ridge as anti-Semitic, and also targeting many Japanese right-wing accounts.