Whether POTUS Has Read It Or Not, Constitution Sales Surge

Whether the current President has actually read the Constitution may be the subject of debate, but he appears to have had a positive effect on getting others to read it. Or at least purchasing it. According to data released this week by NPD's BookScan, sales of print editions of the Constitution have set a record, averaging 19,800 per month during the President's first 33 months in office.

That's nearly three times the average monthly rate of editions of the Constitution sold during Barack Obama's presidency and nearly four times the rate of George W. Bush's second term. (NPD began tracking book sales in 2004.)

“Current year-to-date sales are more than 50,000 units higher than at any point in the terms of both Barack Obama and George W. Bush, and we still have more than two months left in 2019,” said NPD BookScan analyst Kristen McLean.

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U.S. Constitution print-edition sales, not surprisingly, spike around key presidential events, especially controversial ones.

"These spikes were particularly apparent after July 21, 2016, when Donald Trump was nominated, again after November 8, 2016 when he was elected, and after January 20, 2017, when he was inaugurated," NPD said, adding: "Other notable sales spikes occurred after the “Unite the Right” protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11 to 12, 2017, and again around September 4, 2018, when the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearings began.
The most recent sales spike is occurring now, in the context of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcement of the start of formal impeachment hearings."

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