The Art of the Deal: Tony Schwartz's Public Repudiation of Ghostwritten Book
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.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Executive actions that exceed constitutional authority, circumvent statutory constraints, or weaponize government institutions for political ends. Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- New York, NY
- Category
- Corruption & Self-Dealing
- Legal posture
- Reported
- War-crime classification
- Enabling conduct
- Verification
- Independently verified
- ICC relevance
- No
- Sources
- 3 cited
- Stable ID
trump-pre-presidency-art-of-deal-ghostwriter- Victims
- American voters and book readers who formed impressions of Trump's business acumen and character based on a book whose authorship and accuracy were misrepresented; political discourse shaped by a constructed public image
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, Listed co-author; repeatedly cited the book as evidence of his deal-making genius throughout career and presidential campaign; misrepresented authorship and content— Trump Organization
- Tony Schwartz, Actual author; accepted payment and co-authorship credit in 1987; publicly repudiated the book and his role in constructing Trump's public persona in 2016— Independent
Key points
- Schwartz told The New Yorker in July 2016 that he wrote essentially every word of The Art of the Deal; he described Trump as having almost no attention span, rarely reading books, and being unable or unwilling to focus on any topic for more than a few minutes; Schwartz said he invented the concept of 'truthful hyperbole' — one of the book's most cited passages — as a euphemism for Trump's pattern of exaggeration
- The book describes specific deals and business decisions in first-person terms that implied intimate Trump involvement and personal reflection; Schwartz said the narrative voice and business philosophy expressed in the book were largely his own construction based on fragmentary conversations with Trump; Trump called Schwartz a 'total loser' in response and threatened legal action
- Trump invoked The Art of the Deal repeatedly throughout the 2016 campaign as evidence of his business genius and negotiating ability: he called it the greatest business book ever written and said it proved he knew how to make deals; his business record of bankruptcies, failed ventures, and fraud settlements — documented separately — contradicted the persona the book created
- Schwartz said he felt 'a deep sense of remorse' for his role in creating Trump's public image and said he was coming forward because he believed Trump's election posed serious risks; he said that if he were writing the book today the title would be 'The Sociopath'
- The Art of the Deal spent 51 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was the bestselling non-fiction book of 1988; it remained in print and cited by Trump throughout his business and political career as the defining text of his philosophy and capabilities
- Trump's contract with Schwartz gave Schwartz co-author credit and a share of royalties; Schwartz later donated his royalties to charities supporting immigrants and refugees, saying he could no longer in good conscience keep the money
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.
Update log
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Based on July 2016 New Yorker article and subsequent interviews.
Sequence of events
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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