'Art Of The Deal' Ghostwriter: 'I Put Lipstick On A Pig'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The man who helped Donald Trump write 'Art Of The Deal' thirty years ago is saying he now harbors deep regrets for his portrayal of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the 1987 bestseller, telling the New Yorker in an interview released Monday that he "put lipstick on a pig."
Tony Schwartz was a magazine writer in New York when he decided to co-write the book about Trump, he said, because he needed the money. In addition to a joint-byline with Trump, Schwartz received an advance of $250,000 and half of the book's royalties, the New Yorker reported.
The book became a massive hit that propelled Trump into a new realm of celebrity and told readers of Trump's shrewd business instincts and deal-making prowess, while downplaying his negative personality traits, Schwartz said. Now, Schwartz says he regrets that depiction.
"I put lipstick on a pig," he told the New Yorker. "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."
Trump has often pointed to the book as proof he has the qualifications to become president.
Schwartz said he felt compelled to speak out now given the high stakes of the presidential race, and he's criticizing Trump on a number of fronts, including what Schwartz said is Trump's loose relationship with the truth and his short attention span.
"Lying is second nature to him," Schwartz said in the interview.
"He has no attention span," he also said. "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."
Schwartz and the book's publisher also dispute Trump's claims that he contributed significantly to the writing of "Art Of The Deal."
"Trump didn't write a postcard for us," Howard Kaminsky, the former head of Random House, told the New Yorker.
Writing the book plunged Schwartz into despair, he said in the interview. His next project after "Art Of The Deal" was about a search for meaning in life, called, "What Really Matters."
Schwartz is now attempting to offset what he sees as his considerable contribution to Trump's rise by donating his portion of royalties from "Art Of The Deal" to a number of charities, including the Center For The Victims Of Torture and the National Immigration Forum.
