Late last month, Townhall received a sneak preview of "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth's "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free." The book, which was released on June 4, has since appeared on bestseller lists, including the number one spot on The New York Times' bestseller list, all while the competition continues to fail.
According to a June 12 press release from Fox News, the book has sold over 60,000 copies since its June 4 debut. The book also enjoys a 4.6 star rating on Amazon where it is being sold, and was #2 on the Amazon charts this week.
"Publishing this book has been a moving experience from start to finish. I am honored and humbled that The War on Warriors has resonated with so many people; most especially with actively serving troops, veterans, and military families. This book is for them, and for our country. A great nation needs a great military, and I hope this book plays a role in restoring the military to its core function: deterring, fighting, and winning our wars," said Hegseth in a statement.
In addition to his media interviews to promote his latest book, including with Townhall, Hegseth also hosted a live show of "The War on Warriors" on May 10 for Fox Nation.
The points made in Hegseth's latest, about a woke military pushing out those like himself, also even received a promotion of sorts from the Biden HQ X account earlier this month. As we covered at the time, the co-hosts of "Fox & Friends Weekend" interviewed former and potentially future President Donald Trump. Although the Biden team tried to use it against Trump that he wanted to fire "woke generals" because "you can't have a woke military," such a move ended up backfiring, as many users shared how they agreed with Trump.
Trump is right: “you can’t have woke military.” https://t.co/03WOz7GLVX
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) June 2, 2024
In stark contrast to Hegseth is former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who now has a program on MSNBC. As of June 1, her book has only sold 21,869 copies, per Nielsen BookScan. The book, "Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World," was released nearly a month before Hegseth's book, on May 7.
"Say More" has riddled with controversy, especially when it comes to the lies she told about how President Joe Biden did not actually check his watch during the dignified transfer of the U.S. service members killed at the Kabul airport in 2021 during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan under Biden's watch. Psaki said she would edit the book after she was called out for such a lie. Gold Star families were particularly incensed over Psaki's framing.
Another issue, as Spencer highlighted more recently, is that Psaki has come under from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) over her time to write a book but not appear for a transcribed interview with his Committee.
Fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid's book, "Medgar and Myrlie" was released on February 2, 2024 and has sold 28,469 copies, while CNN's Jake Tapper's "All The Demons Are Here" was released last July and has sold 15,427 copies.
Hegseth also crushed another MSNBC back in 2020 with his release of "Modern Warriors," with TheWrap highlighting at the time in December 2020 how Hegseth's book surpassing Joe Scarborough's "Saving Freedom."
"Modern Warriors," which was the first Fox News book, came in at number five on The New York Times' bestseller, while Scarborough's came in at number eight.
"Notably, every title from the FOX News Books imprint has ranked among multiple national bestsellers lists and has collectively sold over 2.5 million copies since its inception," the Fox News press release about "The War on Warriors" noted.