The Art of the Deal: Tony Schwartz's Public Repudiation of Ghostwritten Book
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Tony Schwartz spent 18 months with Trump to research and write The Art of the Deal. By his account, Trump's attention span was limited, he rarely focused on any topic for more than a few minutes, and most of what appeared in the book was invented or shaped by Schwartz from fragments of Trump's statements. The book created the public image of Trump as a brilliant real estate dealmaker — an image Trump leveraged throughout his political career as evidence of his fitness for office. Schwartz's 2016 interviews in The New Yorker and subsequent public statements described the book as a fabrication of Trump's public identity and said he feared Trump becoming president.
Overview
The book that made Trump famous as a business genius was written by someone else. The "philosophy" it articulated was largely invented by his ghostwriter. The "deals" it described were narrated by someone who witnessed them from the outside. The concept of "truthful hyperbole" — perhaps the most quoted line in the book — was coined by Tony Schwartz as a polite way to describe Trump's lying.
The Art of the Deal became the foundation of Trump's claim to business competence. It spent 51 weeks on bestseller lists. For thirty years, Trump cited it as his greatest work.
What Schwartz Said
Schwartz spent 18 months with Trump to produce the book. In his 2016 account, he described Trump as unable or unwilling to focus on any topic for more than a few minutes, as someone who did not read books, and as a person whose business approach was more instinctive and reactive than the disciplined deal-making framework the book describes.
The voice in the book — reflective, strategic, philosophically grounded — was Schwartz's construction. The specifics of deals were assembled from fragments. The governing philosophy was invented.
The Political Function
Trump invoked The Art of the Deal throughout the 2016 campaign and beyond as evidence that he was a genius negotiator who could apply his skills to governing. The argument required accepting that the book accurately represented Trump's capabilities and thinking. Schwartz said it did not.
The book's longevity as a political credential was built on a misrepresentation of authorship. The misrepresentation had been in plain sight for thirty years before anyone demanded an accounting of it.
Schwartz's Regret
Schwartz said he came forward in 2016 because he feared what a Trump presidency would mean. He donated his Art of the Deal royalties to charities supporting immigrants. He called his role in creating Trump's public persona one of the greatest regrets of his life.
Trump responded by threatening to sue him. The lawsuit was never filed.
Timeline
Sequence of events
January 1, 1985
Schwartz begins research — 18 months with Trump
Tony Schwartz begins an 18-month process of research for The Art of the Deal. He accompanies Trump to meetings, listens in on phone calls (with Trump's permission), and attempts to understand Trump's business approach. He later describes Trump's attention span as limited and his business decisions as more instinctive than analytical.
November 1, 1987
The Art of the Deal published — Trump listed as co-author
The Art of the Deal is published with Trump and Schwartz listed as co-authors. It becomes a bestseller, spending 51 weeks on the New York Times list and being the bestselling nonfiction book of 1988. It establishes Trump's public persona as a business genius.
July 25, 2016
Schwartz publishes tell-all in The New Yorker — repudiates his role
As Trump accepts the Republican nomination, Tony Schwartz tells The New Yorker he wrote essentially the entire book, that Trump had little attention span, that 'truthful hyperbole' was Schwartz's own invention, and that he feels deep remorse for his role. He says Trump becoming president frightens him.
July 26, 2016
Trump threatens Schwartz with legal action
Trump's lawyers send a cease-and-desist letter to Schwartz and his publisher. Trump publicly calls Schwartz a 'total loser' and a 'fraud.' Schwartz continues giving interviews and eventually donates his Art of the Deal royalties to charity.
Sources
- ↑ Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All — The New Yorker archived ✓
- ↑ The Real Story of 'The Art of the Deal' — The New York Times
- ↑ Art of the Deal ghostwriter says he regrets the book — The Associated Press
Verification