BOOKED: Trump tattles on GOP dirty trick in latest jab at DeSantis

BOOKED: Trump tattles on GOP dirty trick in latest jab at DeSantis

Donald Trump is having hissy fits again over Ron DeSantis appearing to outdo him by any measure, and in true egotistical fashion, he’s lashing out without apparent concern for the effect on his party overall, as long as it elevates him.

In this case, it’s book sales, and he’s tattling on the GOP tactic of using PACs and campaign funds to buy up masses of books to manipulate bestseller lists.

When Trump heard reports that DeSantis’ new book — The Courage To Be Free — was outselling his own latest — Letters To Trump —  he couldn’t keep his outrage to himself.

He popped on Truth Social to let the world know that this couldn’t possibly be true, both because his own self-aggrandizing grift isn’t actually available yet (although it’s available for pre-order), and because DeSantis is using age-old tricks to boost himself.

It’s not new information that political PACs and campaigns bulk-purchase books, which they then may give away to donors and supporters, scooting the book much further up best-seller lists based solely on sales than it would be otherwise.

In fact, Trump would know — he himself got called out for it in 2017 when he used campaign funds to purchase $55k in books and hit a legal snag (more about that later).

However, someone whose main source of information is right-wing news sources and politicians — in other words, a lot of MAGA fanatics — might not be aware of the tactic or how common it is in conservative campaigns, so Trump’s attack might be news to his fans.

He posted, in part:

“Some in the Fake News are falsely stating that Ron DeSanctimonious’ book is doing as well as “LETTERS TO TRUMP,” my new book. This is FAKE NEWS in that LETTERS doesn’t even come out until April 25th. Ron has groups buying his book in order to inflate sales and, in fact, on the first day, his book was already 30% discounted.”

In fact, Desantis’ book sold more than 3 times as many copies in its first week as Trump’s Crippled America in its first week, according to CNBC.
What about Trump’s point regarding bulk buys?
Well, as it happens, that’s a parallel with his prior book — Crippled America happens to be the very book that Trump mass-purchased with campaign funds, nearly landing himself in hot water.
His campaign dropped over $55k with Barnes & Noble to purchase a few thousand hardcover copies of the book, according to the Daily Beast‘s reporting at the time, earning Trump a warning that he could be in violation of financial laws regarding campaign funds, and that he should not accept royalties on those copies.
Despite Trump’s frantic response, though, book sales — especially with all the aforementioned bulk buys and manipulation — don’t really say much about voter support for a given candidate.
While his post may be a balm for his own ego, it doesn’t really mean anything in terms of the 2024 election, except that he’s just exposed a long-running tactic (that he also uses himself) to his fans.
He does have legitimate reasons for concern, though — the former president’s support is waning, as a recent POLITICO survey shows.
While it’s still close, county chairs that were interviewed in the survey were more likely to be committed to supporting DeSantis than Trump for 2024, and when those who weren’t yet committed to a specific candidate were asked about who they would consider supporting, less than half said Trump was an option, while nearly 3/4 listed DeSantis as a possibility.
No wonder Trump is freaking out.

Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: