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Trump Promoted The Book 'Reasons To Vote For Democrats' On Twitter

by Kelly Tunney
Pool/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The Trump administration is full of surprises. On Monday morning, in what at first appeared to be a highly unusual move, the president tweeted a recommendation for a book about supporting Democrats. If you think that's bizarre, you're not alone. However, it all makes sense when you actually look at its contents. The book Trump promoted on Twitter, Reasons to Vote for Democrats, is actually a gag book by Michael J. Knowles. All its pages are blank.

Yes, it's a funny prank, and it's also one we've seen before. Remember back in November when the book Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect, and Admiration made the news, much to the delight of Democrats? That, too, was a gag, in that all 206 pages were blank. As author David King explained on the first page, "This book is full of blank pages. Despite years of research, we could not find anything to say on this subject, so please feel free to use this book for notes."

It was passed around in liberal circles as a way to lighten the mood after a disappointing election in which Trump pulled the rug out from under some voters with his victory.

According to the Washington Post, Knowles' Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide became the top seller on Amazon in March. And it may get yet another boost, courtesy of the president's Twitter recommendation.

The book's table of contents features a list of actual policy topics (foreign policy, education, energy, civil rights, and jobs are all included), leading the unsuspecting reader to believe that perhaps Knowles is earnest in his quest to tell readers why they should vote for Democrats. However, upon flipping to the first chapter of economics, it is revealed as a ruse. It gives no answers, explanations, or reasons why you should vote for Democrats. And Trump apparently loves it.

It's certainly a fun joke for Republicans, but it's also a questionable, and even inappropriate joke for the President of the United States to make on a public platform. President Trump needs to be working with Democrats in order to advance policies that he's interested in passing — like health care reform — so maybe making a joke about how there is no logical reason to vote for a Democrat isn't the best use of his time. Perhaps he could be meeting with the Democrats in Congress instead, and try to work together on the issues they all care about.