'Actual poetic genius?' Donald Trump's social media posts sold as poetry at GOP convention

MILWAUKEE – Among the MAGA and Trump merch for sale at the 2024 Republican National Convention, attendees can also buy "The Collected Poems of Donald J. Trump."

The nearly 400-page book features a Trump tweet (from before the platform was renamed X) on each page. The tweets are divided into sections, including "loathings," "realities" and "portraits."

Compiled by friends Gregory Woodman from Portland, Oregon, and Ian Pratt from Nashville, Tennessee, the book is available to those at the RNC inside the Baird Center.

Woodman said that the idea for the book came after Trump's infamous 2017 tweet "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." The post left users confused on social media and the presumed typo went viral.

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After the tweet, Woodman said he and Pratt thought: "Is Donald Trump an actual poetic genius?" And the idea for the book was born.

"I'm just a fan of great poetry and great art and it's been a fun project to work on," Woodman said.

Sales were high at the RNC, and Woodman said they sold out of copies Tuesday.

For attendees hoping to buy the book during the last day of the convention, they are taking orders and will ship books to people's homes.

There is only one Trump poetry book out now, but Woodman said a second volume is coming in the fall with tweets from 2019 to 2024.

The first book goes for $45. The preorder for the second volume is slightly higher — it's sold at $47.

Are the two legit or just trolling Republicans at the convention? Here's a line from the publisher's note that prefaces the volume:

"Combining the measured contentiousness of Thoreau, the terse poignancy of Hemingway, and the inclusive social commentary of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Toni Morrison, Donald J. Trump has emerged as one of the leading poets of his generation."

And a glossary at the end describes Vladimir Putin as "a big hero in Russia, all time high popularity, best friend material" and Mitt Romney as a "failed American politician and businessman who never wanted to become President."

We'll let you decide.

Tristan Hernandez can be reached at thernandez@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Actual poetic genius?' Donald Trump's social media posts sold as poetry at GOP convention