The Courage to Be Free debuted at number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and Amazon's bestsellers list. According to Broadside Books, the publisher printed 250,000 hardcover copies of DeSantis' book. To promote the book, DeSantis made several stops across the United States. At one such event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, protesters gathered outside the entrance. DeSantis' book tour was seen by contemporary political commentators as positioning towards a potential bid for president in the 2024 United States presidential election; DeSantis ended up announcing his decision to run in May 2023.
