The surest sign that a politician wants to run for president is the rush to finish writing an autobiography, and only one potential candidate for the White House, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, the popular governor of Michigan, has taken that first decisive step.
Depending on how you view the future, now is a great time to publish a political memoir. Despite being overshadowed by the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, Governor Whitmer released “Real Gretsch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in BetweenNow the New York Times bestsellerThat’s an impressive feat for a novice writer, plus she’s running a major campaign.War Funding But term limits mean he can’t run for reelection, so why would anyone take the time to write or “write” a book like this while in office, unless it was in preparation for a future presidential election?
But what does the data suggest when it comes to presidential candidates and their memoirs? I analyzed the numbers for major presidential candidates from 1999 to 2024 and came to the following conclusions:
It doesn’t seem to matter if (or when) the successful candidate writes a book.George W. Bush’s 1999 book, “A Charge to Keep,” was published eight months before he announced his candidacy for president, and Barack Obama’s, “The Audacity of Hope,” came out four months before, while Joe Biden’s book, “Promise Me, Dad,” was published in late 2017 and came almost a year and a half after he announced his candidacy for president.
Donald Trump has had several ghostwritten books, but did you know he published a book about his election campaign in late 2015?Qualified, “Criminal America: How to Make America Great Again” featured a scowling Trump on the cover, but the mid-2016 paperback edition had a much different feel, at least on the cover. It is called“Becoming Great Again: How to Rebuild an Unfree America” features Trump smiling in front of the American flag.
Books get free media for candidates, which is probably the point.When Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy for the 2016 election, her book “Rising to the Challenge” was on shelves the next day. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) had been working for months toBook TourHe will promote “The Courage to Be Free” ahead of announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
In fact, the data shows that of the 41 books published by major candidates since 1999, nearly 40 percent were published within six months or even a few months after announcing their candidacy.
Most of his pre-presidential books are completely forgotten.These books are an uncontroversial mishmash of policy and narrative, many, if not all, ghostwritten. This is perhaps most evident when comparing Obama’s 1995 memoir, “Dreams of My Father,” which has a distinctive rhythm and tone, with his pre-presidential biography, “The Audacity of Hope,” which had a more community-written tone, so to speak.
But for the most part, they’re well-thought-out efforts to pitch candidates to the media. Even the titles are there: Does anyone remember who wrote “Character Makes a Difference” or “American Dreams” or “A Time for Truth”? And consider the counterfactual: Has a politician ever written a book like this and then dropped out of a presidential run?
Don’t write about events you might regret. Your memoir should include unvarnished stories of overcoming obstacles and demonstrating leadership in stressful situations. It’s also important to be honest, but not too honest. After all, admitting shortcomings is a good way to protect yourself from future criticism. Obama in 1995I wrote aboutHis drug useAppeared in the 2008 primary elections–But it’s been part of his story for a long time.
At the very least, it’s a youthful prank.I felt nauseous.After the football game, she wrote that she got a tattoo of her high school principal. She also got a shark tattoo. Oh well. At least she got one.Puppy KillerSo has South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Republican).
You can write a book, make a lot of money, and even run for president.Whitmer said,receivedSen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) signed a “seven-figure” book deal in 2024.$800,000He won an award for his book in 2015. From 2019 to 2020, Vice President Kamala Harrisreceived$446,875 on her books, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received $300,000, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received $75,000, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) received $27,000 (in 2015).
It’s financially more lucrative to sell a memoir after you’ve been in office. Former Vice President Mike Pence sold his autobiography.received$1.4 million. So far, no one has come close to Barack and Michelle Obama.$65 millionAdvances on their books.
Will Governor Whitmer’s gamble pay off? Unfortunately, the hard data on political memoirs doesn’t provide a clear answer.
But if Democrats want to know who’s doing the groundwork necessary to mount a serious national candidacy, there’s only one person committed to the hard work — and she comes from a mitten-shaped battleground state.
Aki Perez teeth A former CIA analyst and now a research assistant at the University of Maryland, she has written for The Washington Post, Slate, The Atlantic and other outlets.
