NEWS AND OPINION:
Two Republican and Democratic candidates have a competition all their own at the moment. Consider the battle on the Amazon bestselling books chart of the autobiographies written by Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance.
“Mr. Vance, whose 2016 memoir ’Hillbilly Elegy’ was turned into a Netflix film starring Glenn Close several years ago, currently sits in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots (paperback and hardcover editions, respectively) on Amazon’s overall bestselling books list,” Forbes said in a brief analysis of the phenomenon.
“Before Trump’s announcement, when Vance was being floated as one of several potential picks, the book was in the No. 220 spot and then soared to No. 1 within hours of Trump’s pick being announced. As of Monday, ’Hillbilly Elegy’ is the No. 1 bestselling book in the Amazon categories of biographies and memoirs, history and politics and social sciences,” Forbes said.
What about Ms. Harris?
“The paperback version of her 2019 book, ’The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,’ is currently undergoing a similar phenomenon — it has soared from the No. 33,154 spot Sunday afternoon to No. 153 as of Monday and is likely to continue its climb, possibly unseating “Hillbilly Elegy,’” the analysis predicted.
But for now, Mr. Vance is in the lead in this particular competition.
“In lifetime print sales, ’Hillbilly Elegy’ has outsold “The Truths We Hold” by 624%, according to data from Circana. Vance’s book had sold 1.5 million paperback and hardcover print copies through July 13 compared to Harris’ 207,000,” Forbes said.
Circana is an industry source on consumer behavior based on technology, advanced analytics and cross-industry data.
ONE FOR THE COAST GUARD
The House Committee on Homeland Security will conduct a hearing, “From Drug Interdictions in the Caribbean to National Security Patrols in the Arctic: Examining U.S. Coast Guard’s Role in Securing the Homeland” on Wednesday. On hand to elaborate: Adm. Linda L. Fagan, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant.
Keep in mind that in fiscal 2023, the Coast Guard Coast Guard saved over 5,500 lives, assisted over 40,000 people, and dealt with 212,000 pounds of cocaine and 54,000 pounds of marijuana with an approximate wholesale value of $2.9 billion. It also responded to 28 weather or climate disaster events, and boarded over 50 foreign vessels to suppress illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The hearing will be livestreamed here on YouTube at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
FOR THE LEXICON
“K-Hive.”
Here’s a little word with some history. It is a formal designation of sorts for fans of presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, and it comes with some history. ”K-Hive” first surfaced when Ms. Harris ran for president in 2020, launched by loyal fans who shared it on social media.
Of course it has a hashtag, #KHive. And it lives on, garnering a fair amount of media attention now that Ms. Harris has launched a new push for the White House. Here’s just a few headlines from the last 24 hours:
“What is the KHive?” The New York Times asked.
“The online encyclopedia Know Your Meme credits the MSNBC correspondent Joy-Ann Reid with coining the moniker — a play on BeyHive, the name of Beyoncé’s devoted fan base — in a tweet in 2017, when Ms. Harris was a first-term senator from California. Both Ms. Harris and President Biden have referred to the KHive on social media over the years,” the Times said in a lengthy story.
“Kamala Harris is quickly winning supporters for her presidential bid within the top rungs of high finance — joining her ’KHive’ of online fans,” the Times wrote.
But wait, there’s more. The coverage continues.
“We’re all the KHive now,” declared Vanity Fair. “Wall Street’s ‘KHive’ fired up as billionaire executives back Harris,” noted the Detroit News. “Members of ’KHive’ — a play on Beyoncé’s ’Beyhive’ fan club — are making fancams and memes of the vice president as she now seeks the Democratic nomination,” declared Yahoo News.
FOXIFIED
In the week of July 15-21, Fox News attracted the largest prime-time audiences in both the cable news and regular broadcast realm, according to Nielsen Media Research. Coverage focused on the shooting of former President Donald Trump, the Republican National Convention and President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 race.
In prime time, Fox News enjoyed an average daily audience of 5 million viewers, while 2.5 million tuned in during the day. Standout programs included “Jesse Watters Primetime,” which averaged 5.6 million daily viewers, “The Five” (4.8 million viewers), “Hannity” (5.5 million), “The Ingraham Angle” (4 million viewers), and “Special Report With Bret Baier” (3.6 million).
Late-night host Greg Gutfeld — host of “Gutfeld” — drew an average nightly audience of 3.3 million, once again besting his network competition. “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” had an audience of 1.5 million, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” weighed in with 955,000, NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” drew 971,000, and the same network’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” had an audience of 691,000. The CBS show “After Midnight” averaged a daily audience of 496,000.
POLL DU JOUR
• 46% of registered U.S. voters think former President Donald Trump’s choice of Sen. J.D. Vance as a running mate was a “good choice”; 79% of Republicans, 44% of independents and 17% of Democrats agree.
• 54% of men and 39% of women also agree. 53% of Whites, 40% of Hispanics and 14% of Blacks also agree.
• 33% overall think it was a “bad choice”; 9% of Republicans, 31% of independents and 61% of Democrats agree.
• 28% of men and 38% of women also agree. 28% of Whites, 31% of Hispanics and 66% of Blacks also agree.
• 21% don’t know; 12% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 22% of Democrats agree.
• 19% of men and 23% of women also agree. 19% of Whites, 29% of Hispanics and 20% of Blacks also agree.
SOURCE: A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,376 U.S. adults conducted by telephone July 19-21.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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