Books derided by Ted Cruz at Judge Jackson hearings now top Amazon best-seller lists

In an attempt to characterize Ketanji Brown Jackson as soft on crime and a supporter of critical race theory during her confirmation hearing, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz held up several books as if they were proof of the Supreme Court nominee's beliefs. In doing so, the Republican vaulted at least two of the books to bestseller status, The Washington Post reports.

One of Cruz's props during his attempt to torpedo Jackson's nomination was “The End of Policing,” Alex S. Vitale’s 2017 book that analyzes modern policing and makes the case for defunding the police. As he held up a pristine copy of the book, Cruz said, “If you look at the Georgetown Day School’s curriculum, it is filled and overflowing with critical race theory,” referring to the intellectual movement that examines the way policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism. Jackson serves on the Washington, D.C. prep school's board of trustees.

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Much to the delight of Vitale, Cruz's performance art shot the book to number one best-seller status on Amazon. “Thanks to Ted Cruz, The End of Policing is now the #1 Best Seller in Gov. Social Policy,” Vitale tweeted, including a screenshot of the Amazon ranking.

Other books highlighted by Cruz also have experienced dramatic sales increases since Cruz highlighted them. Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to be an Antiracist” is No. 2 in race relations, and his children’s book “Antiracist Baby,” to which Cruz gave considerable screen time, is the No. 1 children’s book and the No. 2 bestseller for all books sold on Amazon.