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Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All

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User 85168

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Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All

Apologies for the 900th Trump thread in OP, but this is pretty good stuff. Tony Schwartz, credited as an author with Donald Trump on The Art of the Deal, has come out and claims that Trump did not have any part in writing it, and tells his experience on working with Trump. Now, having ghostwriters isn't uncommon, especially in the world of politics, but the stories that come from Tony are fascinating.

Some choice quotes to follow, it is a long article.
“I put lipstick on a pig,” he said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”
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If he were writing “The Art of the Deal” today, Schwartz said, it would be a very different book with a very different title. Asked what he would call it, he answered, “The Sociopath.”
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He asked Trump to describe his childhood in detail. After sitting for only a few minutes in his suit and tie, Trump became impatient and irritable. He looked fidgety, Schwartz recalls, “like a kindergartner who can’t sit still in a classroom.” Even when Schwartz pressed him, Trump seemed to remember almost nothing of his youth, and made it clear that he was bored.
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“If he had to be briefed on a crisis in the Situation Room, it’s impossible to imagine him paying attention over a long period of time,” he said.
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But Schwartz believes that Trump’s short attention span has left him with “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance.” He said, “That’s why he so prefers TV as his first news source—information comes in easily digestible sound bites.” He added, “I seriously doubt that Trump has ever read a book straight through in his adult life.” During the eighteen months that he observed Trump, Schwartz said, he never saw a book on Trump’s desk, or elsewhere in his office, or in his apartment.
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Lying is second nature to him,” Schwartz said. “More than anyone else I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true.”
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Some of the falsehoods in “The Art of the Deal” are minor. Spy upended Trump’s claims that Ivana had been a “top model” and an alternate on the Czech Olympic ski team. Barrett notes that in “The Art of the Deal” Trump describes his father as having been born in New Jersey to Swedish parents; in fact, he was born in the Bronx to German parents. (Decades later, Trump spread falsehoods about Obama’s origins, claiming it was possible that the President was born in Africa.)
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In “The Art of the Deal,” Trump describes Roy Cohn, his personal lawyer, in the warmest terms, calling him “the sort of guy who’d be there at your hospital bed . . . literally standing by you to the death.” Cohn, who in the fifties assisted Senator Joseph McCarthy in his vicious crusade against Communism, was closeted. He felt abandoned by Trump when he became fatally ill from aids, and said, “Donald pisses ice water.”
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In the book, Trump says that “my energy and my enthusiasm” explain how, as a twenty-nine-year-old with few accomplishments, he acquired the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Barrett reports, however, that Trump’s father had to co-sign the many contracts that the deal required. He also lent Trump seven and a half million dollars to get started as a casino owner in Atlantic City; at one point, when Trump couldn’t meet payments on other loans, his father tried to tide him over by sending a lawyer to buy some three million dollars’ worth of gambling chips. Barrett told me, “Donald did make some smart moves himself, particularly in assembling the site for the Trump Tower. That was a stroke of genius.” Nonetheless, he said, “The notion that he’s a self-made man is a joke. But I guess they couldn’t call the book ‘The Art of My Father’s Deals.’ ”
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It took Schwartz a little more than a year to write “The Art of the Deal.” In the spring of 1987, he sent the manuscript to Trump, who returned it to him shortly afterward. There were a few red marks made with a fat-tipped Magic Marker, most of which deleted criticisms that Trump had made of powerful individuals he no longer wanted to offend, such as Lee Iacocca. Otherwise, Schwartz says, Trump changed almost nothing.

In my phone interview with Trump, he initially said of Schwartz, “Tony was very good. He was the co-author.” But he dismissed Schwartz’s account of the writing process. “He didn’t write the book,” Trump told me. “I wrote the book. I wrote the book. It was my book. And it was a No. 1 best-seller, and one of the best-selling business books of all time. Some say it was the best-selling business book ever.” (It is not.) Howard Kaminsky, the former Random House head, laughed and said, “Trump didn’t write a postcard for us!”
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Schwartz expected Trump to attack him for speaking out, and he was correct. Informed that Schwartz had made critical remarks about him, and wouldn’t be voting for him, Trump said, “He’s probably just doing it for the publicity.” He also said, “Wow. That’s great disloyalty, because I made Tony rich. He owes a lot to me. I helped him when he didn’t have two cents in his pocket. It’s great disloyalty. I guess he thinks it’s good for him—but he’ll find out it’s not good for him.”

Minutes after Trump got off the phone with me, Schwartz’s cell phone rang. “I hear you’re not voting for me,” Trump said. “I just talked to The New Yorker—which, by the way, is a failing magazine that no one reads—and I heard you were critical of me.”

“You’re running for President,” Schwartz said. “I disagree with a lot of what you’re saying.”

“That’s your right, but then you should have just remained silent. I just want to tell you that I think you’re very disloyal. Without me, you wouldn’t be where you are now. I had a lot of choice of who to have write the book, and I chose you, and I was very generous with you. I know that you gave a lot of speeches and lectures using ‘The Art of the Deal.’ I could have sued you, but I didn’t.”

“My business has nothing to do with ‘The Art of the Deal.’ ”

“That’s not what I’ve been told.”

“You’re running for President of the United States. The stakes here are high.”

“Yeah, they are,” he said. “Have a nice life.” Trump hung up.
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Y

yanipheonu

Member
Lying is second nature to him,” Schwartz said. “More than anyone else I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true.”
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've pegged Trump as someone who has been conning people so long he believes his own lies.
 
R

Risette

A Good Citizen
Minutes after Trump got off the phone with me, Schwartz’s cell phone rang. “I hear you’re not voting for me,” Trump said. “I just talked to The New Yorker—which, by the way, is a failing magazine that no one reads—and I heard you were critical of me.”

“You’re running for President,” Schwartz said. “I disagree with a lot of what you’re saying.”

“That’s your right, but then you should have just remained silent. I just want to tell you that I think you’re very disloyal. Without me, you wouldn’t be where you are now. I had a lot of choice of who to have write the book, and I chose you, and I was very generous with you. I know that you gave a lot of speeches and lectures using ‘The Art of the Deal.’ I could have sued you, but I didn’t.”

“My business has nothing to do with ‘The Art of the Deal.’ ”

“That’s not what I’ve been told.”

“You’re running for President of the United States. The stakes here are high.”

“Yeah, they are,” he said. “Have a nice life.” Trump hung up.
Click to expand...
What a petty piece of garbage. I can't wait for Trump to get put in his place in November.
 
S

ShipTheCheese

Member
9791192.jpg
 
A

AlexBasch

Member
You're right, it's good stuff, OP. I was dying with the nuclear codes bit and then it just got a lot, lot more worse.
 
W

wanderingprostheyltite

Member
In “The Art of the Deal,” Trump describes Roy Cohn, his personal lawyer, in the warmest terms, calling him “the sort of guy who’d be there at your hospital bed . . . literally standing by you to the death.” Cohn, who in the fifties assisted Senator Joseph McCarthy in his vicious crusade against Communism, was closeted. He felt abandoned by Trump when he became fatally ill from aids, and said, “Donald pisses ice water.”
Click to expand...

Jesus. Not like any of it surprises me but yeah.

Some say it was the best-selling business book ever.” (It is not.) Howard Kaminsky, the former Random House head, laughed and said, “Trump didn’t write a postcard for us!”
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I lol'd.
 
W

WaffleTaco

Wants to outlaw technological innovation.
Honestly he needs to be put in a psychiatric hospital. We would do this for any other "normal" person, but because he is famous he gets to do whatever he wants. Seriously he needs help.
 
R

royalan

Member
yanipheonu said:
Yeah, I've pegged Trump as someone who has been conning people so long he believes his own lies.
Click to expand...

But that's the thing that's so terrifying about why he's gotten so far this election. The man is such a sociopath, such an unapologetic liar, that even if what he says is a complete lie that contradicts a previous statement (hell, it could contradict something he said earlier that same day), he says it with the conviction and force of the most honest man on the planet. And people buy into that.

Whereas if Hillary hesitates for even a second while answering a question, even if what she says is 100% logical truth and all she's doing is thinking of the most perfect way to phrase her response so she's not attacked for it later, people read it as her being conniving.

This man has more than once polled higher than Hillary on the "Who's more honest and trustworthy?" question. This man, against the woman with one of the highest honesty rankings of a major politician on Politifact.

Perception is a hell of thing.
 
Riposte

Riposte

Member
I wonder how much of Trump's positions are based on loyalty/disloyalty in his previous interactions with people. Seems like his defining characteristic in human relationships.
 
F

FuturusX

Member
“The notion that he’s a self-made man is a joke. But I guess they couldn’t call the book ‘The Art of My Father’s Deals.’ ”

Ba doom doom swisshhh
 
E

EatinOlives

Member
One of my relatives pegs his "fascination" (aka restrained support) of Trump largely based on the shit written in Art of the Deal, mainly about manipulating media for free coverage/leverage and whatever it says about negotiation tactics.

While not surprising the book was ghostwritten, the fact that the ghostwriter heavily dislikes Trump as a person and distances what he wrote from Trump is pretty fucking damning, at least going by my relatives' logic. I can't wait to bring up this article and see what he says, no doubt he'll find a way to dismiss the fact that this entire thing is built on a house of cards.
 
B

BigJonsson

Member
I'd wager that we'll be seeing a lot of articles/reports like this coming out after the convention, stuff people have been sitting on for years
 
D

dangeraaron10

Unconfirmed Member
What a train wreck of a man.

There's literally no positive drawbacks from him as a candidate. The most baffling thing is anyone can see that Trump is playing his rabid base like a fiddle, unable and uninterested in following through with any of his so called plans for office. November can't come soon enough.
 
M

MomoPufflet

Member
Is it ghostwriting if their name is on the cover of the book? Serious question.

I thought the point of ghostwriting was to make it outwardly look like you wrote something without help.
 
S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
Monocle said:
It's unspeakably disgusting that so many people support this horrible person.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i'm about to disown extended family if I find out they are supporting him at this point. Even if you don't like Clinton, this piece of trash should be nowhere near the Presidency.
 
R

ryseing

Member
Now Burnett just needs to come out and say something and both men who built the myth will have disowned him. Of course that's never going to happen since Burnett's wife is a nutter. Thanks for the read OP.
 
S

sangreal

Member
Nothing really new here if you've followed any of Schwarz's previous comments. Trumps ghost writer for his column in Trump Magazine has an article out there somewhere too which paints Trump in a similar light
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Schwartz expected Trump to attack him for speaking out, and he was correct. Informed that Schwartz had made critical remarks about him, and wouldn’t be voting for him, Trump said, “He’s probably just doing it for the publicity.” He also said, “Wow. That’s great disloyalty, because I made Tony rich. He owes a lot to me. I helped him when he didn’t have two cents in his pocket. It’s great disloyalty. I guess he thinks it’s good for him—but he’ll find out it’s not good for him.”

Minutes after Trump got off the phone with me, Schwartz’s cell phone rang. “I hear you’re not voting for me,” Trump said. “I just talked to The New Yorker—which, by the way, is a failing magazine that no one reads—and I heard you were critical of me.”

“You’re running for President,” Schwartz said. “I disagree with a lot of what you’re saying.”

“That’s your right, but then you should have just remained silent. I just want to tell you that I think you’re very disloyal. Without me, you wouldn’t be where you are now. I had a lot of choice of who to have write the book, and I chose you, and I was very generous with you. I know that you gave a lot of speeches and lectures using ‘The Art of the Deal.’ I could have sued you, but I didn’t.”

“My business has nothing to do with ‘The Art of the Deal.’ ”

“That’s not what I’ve been told.”

“You’re running for President of the United States. The stakes here are high.”

“Yeah, they are,” he said. “Have a nice life.” Trump hung up.
Click to expand...

Now imagine this guy negotiating with foreign leaders, especially when both sides have nukes.
 
S

Sheroking

Member
Mifune said:
Goes hand-in-hand with the Trumpification of American society. Words are losing their meaning.
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What do you think the words "awful" and "nice" used to mean? This is absolutely nothing new.

English is a living language and populist use warps and changes the meaning of words. Pedants who can't get passed shit like irregardless or "literally" are going to find themselves in the wrong in the end.
 
W

Will the Thrill

Banned
It's sad that something like this probably won't have any real impact on his supporters

(OR THE MULTITUDES OF OTHER EVIDENCE THAT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY SWAYED PEOPLE)
 
S

sonicmj1

Member
In the end, though, Schwartz had his price. He told Trump that if he would give him half the advance and half the book’s royalties he’d take the job.

Such terms are unusually generous for a ghostwriter. Trump, despite having a reputation as a tough negotiator, agreed on the spot.
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I'm sure Trump will make the best deals for us, though.
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
Minutes after Trump got off the phone with me, Schwartz’s cell phone rang. “I hear you’re not voting for me,” Trump said. “I just talked to The New Yorker—which, by the way, is a failing magazine that no one reads—and I heard you were critical of me.”
Click to expand...
ROFL

Trump is just too much
 
L

Lucreto

Member
Trump needs his own forum on GAF with the amount of articles about him. (or the election as a whole)

Gaming,
Gaming Community,
Off Topic,
Off Topic Community,
The Fantastical World of Trump


Its amazing this doesn't do anything negative to his poll numbers.
 
I

Imperfected

Member
reptilescorpio said:
ROFL

Trump is just too much
Click to expand...

Some days, I just wish I could debate him to find out how deep the madness goes.

"If no one reads the New Yorker, why do you care that I talked to them?"

Then I remember the answer will be a ridiculous non-sequitor about making deals or the establishment and understand why no one actually asks him these questions.
 
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