So…Donald Trump had another conniption fit on Twitter and said Vanity Fair’s subscriptions were “way down, big trouble, dead!” And lo, Vanity Fair’s subscriptions went up, way up, big money!
Vanity Fair is rockin’ this!
In fact, after Trump’s ham-fisted insult on Twitter, the magazine’s subscriptions increased by as much as 100 fold, noted Folio writer Becky Peterson.
In fact, the magazine reeled in the highest number of subscriptions sold in one single day among Conde Nast publications on Thursday, the company told Folio.
So, what exactly happened?
Well, Vanity Fair writer Tina Nguyen wrote a clever but particularly scathing review of Trump Grill, owned by yours truly and found inside Trump Tower in New York City.
Her review was funny, but brutal:
“Renowned butcher Pat LaFrieda once dared me to eat an eyeball that he himself popped out of the skull of a roasted pig. That eyeball tasted better than the Trump Grill’s (Grille’s) Gold Label Burger, a Pat LaFrieda—branded short-rib burger blend molded into a sad little meat thing, sitting in the center of a massive rapidly staling brioche bun, hiding its shame under a slice of melted orange cheese.”
Thus, Trump turned to Twitter, but provided no evidence:
Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
But that tweet inspired people to read Nguyen’s review, and it has since then received at least one million unique views, Conde Nast reports. And more than 330,000 unique visitors have read additional Trump stories on the Hive (where Nguyen writes) and nearly 10,000 twitter folks have followed the magazine’s brand on Twitter.
As Peterson notes, this is what happened:
A spokesperson tells me that yesterday @VanityFair had the highest number of subscriptions sold in a single day at @CondeNast. Story soon.
— Becky Peterson (@beckpeterson) December 16, 2016
And as The Hill notes, Vanity Fair re-branded itself, adding a banner following Trump’s tweet, calling itself the “magazine Trump doesn’t want you to read,” and encouraging readers to subscribe.
Nguyen’s unflattering view offended Trump’s supporters, who reached the boiling point Thursday night, demanding that she be fired and Vanity Fair shuttered.
