WISHFUL THINKING

Author Disputes Trump’s Claim His Endorsement Boosted Book Sales

Trump had boasted that his endorsement on Truth Social sent Dr. James Jones’s book from near-zero sales to 100,000 copies sold. The author disagrees.

An author has thrown cold water on Donald Trump’s claim that the president’s endorsement sent sales of his book soaring. Trump boasted at the White House Christmas reception earlier this month that he had boosted sales for Venom and Valor: A White House Physician Assistant’s Battle for Survival in the Amazon, written by his former medical adviser, Dr. James Jones, by promoting it in a Truth Social post. “It sold about two copies, but it had a hell of a cover,” Trump said at the reception, where Jones was in attendance. “I put it out: ‘Great book. Bop bop bop,’ picture of this viper, coming like, boom from the White House. And his publisher calls him, said, ‘Doctor, what happened? What’s going on?’… They sold 100,000 books.” But according to Jones, who published the book more than a year ago, Trump’s endorsement didn’t move the needle the way the 79-year-old president claims. “I don’t think it’s a massive bump, but, you know, I’m sure it didn’t hurt anything. But I haven’t seen anything that’s excessive,” Jones told NOTUS. The author, who served as Physician to the President under Barack Obama and later Trump—who went on to appoint him chief medical adviser—added that Trump hadn’t reached out to him directly about the book beyond the Truth Social post.