‘Astroturfed’: Jill Biden’s Memoir Falls From NY Times Bestseller List

‘Astroturfed’: Jill Biden’s Memoir Falls From NY Times Bestseller List

Former First Lady Jill Biden’s memoir has suddenly dropped off the New York Times bestseller list, adding further evidence that she “astroturfed” her book sales.

Rarely does a book make the bestseller list only to drop off within weeks – if a new publication is truly popular among the people, then it would hold that for weeks, and sales should continue to remain steady.

But this is what happened with Biden’s “View From the East Wing” book.

The book had a “dagger” mark next to it on the list, which means the newspaper suspects bulk orders.

“It debuted at #1 on the NYT due to astroturfed bulk orders (not my opinion it got the infamous † indicating this) and is now *completely* off the list 2 weeks later,” statistical and political analyst Nate Silver wrote on X. “Very rare for a “#1″ to fall that fast. Virtually no one except political reporters are actually reading it.”

It debuted at #1 on the NYT due to astroturfed bulk orders (not my opinion it got the infamous † indicating this) and is now *completely* off the list 2 weeks later. Very rare for a “#1” to fall that fast. Virtually no one except political reporters are actually reading it. https://t.co/dUU8kswlDN

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 27, 2026

Others have noticed the peculiarity.

“Republicans were unlikely to buy it, and neither were Democrats,” Jim Geraghty wrote at National Review. He mocked Biden, saying “shockingly, very few people want to buy [her] book.”

An industry insider defended the practice, saying it is common for politicians to sell books in bulk while on tour.

“She definitely had some bulk orders, but I think they were tied to the events that she had,” Lauren Cobello told the New York Post.

Still, the New York Times appears to have a double standard for when it is acceptable to use bulk orders to juice the numbers.

In April, the newspaper put Governor Gavin Newsom’s memoir on its best-seller list even though he used a gimmick to boost sales, as the Washington Free Beacon reported.

The Free Beacon reported:

From early November to late January, Newsom sent fundraising emails and social media posts offering to send a copy of the book to supporters who contributed “ANY AMOUNT,” even “a few bucks,” to his PAC. Newsom went on to disclose in a recent campaign finance report two January payments to Porchlight Book Company—a Milwaukee-based business that specializes “in moving books in bulk”—totaling more than $1.5 million for “books at cost.”

But in 2015, the newspaper initially excluded Ted Cruz’s book for using a similar strategy, the Free Beacon reported.

The bestseller list also uses questionable data. For example, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s book about the rot in Ivy League colleges was placed third on the list, despite selling twice as many books as the supposed top-selling book, according to the Free Beacon.

[Featured image via Gallery Books and Amazon]

Matt Lamb currently works as an associate editor for The College Fix. He also contributes to a variety of websites, including Legal Insurrection, Human Life Review, and AMAC Newsline. His work has been published by The Federalist, Townhall, and The Daily Caller. He has worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.

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