Former WH medical adviser disputes Trump’s claim he boosted book sales by 100K copies

WASHINGTON, DC: At a White House Christmas party , President Donald Trump told everyone that his post on Truth Social made ‘Venom and Valor: A White House Physician Assistant’s Battle for Survival in the Amazon’ a huge hit.

The book’s author, Dr James Jones, who worked as a medical adviser during Trump’s time in office, disagrees, according to the Daily Beast.

Trump never checked with James Jones before promoting his book

At the gathering, Trump said, "It sold about two copies, but it had a hell of a cover," before boasting, "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." 

However, Jones has since pushed back on that account.

“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,” said Jones, who added that Trump never consulted with him before giving his book a boost, something that, according to NOTUS, has been a running pattern with the authors Trump promotes. 

Jones pointed out that Trump never checked with him before promoting the book. 

It lines up with what people have said about Trump; he often promotes books by former aides or associates without giving them a heads-up.

James Jones' book isn't about a particular president

Jones, who also worked in the Obama administration, published the book about a year ago.

He wrote it based on his experiences as a physician assistant, but did not write his book explicitly about any president.

Still, Trump boasted that he boosted Jones’ book sales at the White House Christmas reception, an event that the White House called the press pool back in to so the media would catch Trump’s remarks.

Trump says he’s the reason people’s books fly off the shelves, that his endorsements spark media buzz and get everyone talking.

But Jones tells a different story, and the gap between their accounts has people paying attention. “I’ve sold a lot of bestsellers when I like people,” Trump has said before.

While Trump continues to tout his influence across media and publishing, the gap between his claims and independent accounts, as illustrated by Jones’ remarks, has again fueled scrutiny over the accuracy of the president’s public statements.