Sales of U.S. Constitution reach all-time high during Trump presidency

Since President Trump took office, print edition sales of the U.S. Constitution have never been higher, a major industry group reports.

Popular printed versions of the founding document have risen by double digits since 2016, according to The NPD Group, a global information company that tracks sales of books and other products.

“Regardless of your political affiliation, there is no doubt that our current political climate has done wonders for constitutional engagement,” said Kristen McLean, books industry analyst for NPD Bookscan.

Some 275,000 print editions of the U.S. Constitution were sold in 2016, the year Mr. Trump was elected president, which is the greatest number of print edition sales of the U.S. Constitution sold since NPD BookScan began tracking U.S. book sales in 2004.

Average monthly sales of the U.S. Constitution have increased 60% in the Trump era, with an average of 19,800 copies sold each month during his first 33 months in office. By way of comparison, the monthly average was 7,500 in Barack Obama’s first term and 5,600 in George W. Bush’s second term.

“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,” Ms. McLean noted.

U.S. Constitution print-edition sales tended to spike around key news events during Mr. Trump’s first term, such as his nomination and inauguration. The most recent sales spike is occurring now, following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s push for formal impeachment hearings, the group said.

“There have been some other smaller spikes in Constitution sales in recent history — such as 2010, following the 2009 founding of the tea party,” Ms. McLean said. “However, that spike is dwarfed by what we have been seeing since these last few years.”