Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., released his first book on Tuesday. Titled Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us, the book immediately shot to the top of the Amazon.com "Political Commentary and Opinion" bestseller list, as well two other politics-related Amazon lists. But by Tuesday afternoon, questions had already emerged about whether the Republican Party itself was engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort to inflate the book's sales, according to an Associated Press reporter, posting via Twitter.
AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller posted an email sent out Tuesday by the Republican National Committee, in which the RNC offers "hand-signed" copies of Trump Jr.'s book to Trump supporters who donate "$50 or more" to the RNC.
"This is a tactic that helps boost reported sales," Miller wrote on his Twitter account.
Investigative reporter Judd Legum also stated via his own Twitter account that Trump was "using campaign funds to bulk purchase his son's book." Legum appeared to be referring to the large number of books likely acquired by the RNC to operate the donor giveaway pushed by the Tuesday fundraising email.
Though the RNC offered copies of the book supposedly autographed by Trump Jr. himself for a minimum donation of $50, the listed cover price of a hardcover copy of Triggered is $15.99.