EXCLUSIVE: Ron DeSantis’ book BEATS Obama, Pence and Trump for most copies of a contender sold in its first week – as more fans flock to his signings and await his 2024 announcement
- Ron DeSantis sold 94,284 copies of his memoir in its first week of release
- This is the most of any potential presidential candidate in recent memory
- Barack Obama ranks 2nd, Mike Pence ranks 4th, and Trump ranks 6th with his 2016 book
Ron DeSantis’ book sales add to his national recognition after selling more copies of his new memoir in their first week on shelves than those of Barack Obama and Donald Trump before their bids for the office.
Figures from books shared with DailyMail.com prior to their public release reveal that DeSantis sold 94,284 copies of The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival in the seven days following its publication on Feb. 28.
The closest second for pre-presidential announcement books is more than 27,500 behind the sale to DeSantis.
Obama’s 2006 book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream came in at 66,766 purchases in its first week of sales.
DeSantis is currently on tour promoting his book, but many see the campaign-like events as a prelude to an announcement for a presidential bid.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tops the charts of first-week sales of a book released by a prospective presidential candidate before officially announcing a run. Pictured: DeSantis holds up his memoir during the final book tour stop in Clearwater, Florida
The stops on DeSantis’s book tour are more reminiscent of presidential campaign rallies. Pictured: DeSantis signing books and taking selfies with attendees at his event in Clearwater, Florida on Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Barack Obama’s 2006 book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream generated 66,766 purchases in its first week of sales—ranked second in sales to a prospective presidential candidate, but trailed DeSantis’ sales at 27,500
Several polls show that he is currently the most likely candidate to beat Trump in the 2024 primary. And many of these surveys even show that he beat the former president in a hypothetical head-to-head.
Trump’s pre-announcement book Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America, published in 2016, only garnered 27,686 sales in its first week after its release.
The former president’s book ranks sixth when compared to first-week sales of other politicians who wrote books before announcing their bid for the White House.
He fell behind both former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
It’s not surprising that their books garnered a huge amount of attention, given that they were released after the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and after Trump’s 2020 presidential loss. Many wanted to see if there were any insights into the Trump administration that were being revealed in the books of Pence and Pompeo.
In Clearwater, Florida, DeSantis staff handed out books to attendees on Wednesday at a rally-style gathering of at least 1,000 supporters who came to a country line dance and live music venue to listen to the governor’s speech.
After his remarks, the governor hung out to take selfies with attendees and sign their copies of his book.
The book tour also took DeSantis to California’s Reagan Library on Sunday and continues this week and weekend to Iowa and Nevada — both early primary contest states.
Staff distributed copies of DeSantis’ book The Courage to be Free to a crowd of approximately 1,000 supporters prior to his remarks
The Florida blueprint is what DeSantis uses to build a platform for potential presidential candidates. He argues that the way he has ruled in the Sunshine State should be applied across the country and in other states.
In particular, this refers to increased freedoms, such as lifting all remaining COVID-19 restrictions and holding “awake” companies, entities and educators accountable for putting children or the public on the agenda rather than delivering the intended services. grant.
The third-highest first-week pre-presidential books surprisingly come from Ben Carson, whose book A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties sold 37,924 copies in its first week.
Carson continued as Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development after gaining little traction in the 2016 Republican primary.
In fourth place for book sales is former Vice President Mike Pence. He reached nearly 37,600 sales of his 2022 book So Help Me God. Unsurprisingly, Pence’s sales were among the top five potential presidential candidates since he was number 2 among one of the most controversial presidents in the history of the United States. USA.