Trump’s Ghostwriter: He’s a Sociopath

[DonViejo]

The ghost writer who penned Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal said in an interview with The New Yorker that he feels deep remorse for contributing to “presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” Author Tony Schwartz now says that if he wrote the same book today, he’d call it The Sociopath. “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,” Schwartz said. “Trump only takes two positions. Either you’re a scummy loser, liar, whatever, or you’re the greatest.” Schwartz noted that Trump’s short attention span has left him with “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance.”

READ IT AT THE NEW YORKER

###

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/07/18/trump-s-ghostwriter-he-s-a-sociopath.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl

[mucifer]

1. This guy must also be raking in lots of money

from the book sales. He has reasons to be nice to donald.

[BobbyDrake]

2. Exactly. Nowhere do I see "donating the proceeds to charity" in this supposed mea culpa.

Shameless publicity seeking, is all this is.

[mucifer]

6. Yeah for all we know this could be the same bull as the secret service anti Hillary author.

[GusBob]

8. With respects, did you read the article?

He states he is donating the 2016 royalties to 5 different charities and human rights groups

Why would you clearly be so mistaken about such a thing?

[Mortos]

12. I love it when people comment on something they have obviously not read.

The author of the book had misgivings about taken on the job in the first place but made a decision to choose money over integrity, which he has regretted since. He is definitely not doing this for publicity. He has angered the orange one and probably will be sued, which Trump threatened after he was contacted about the article in the New Yorker. Schwartz seems genuinely contrite and feels guilty about his contribution to the myth of Trump as anything but a sociopath and chronic liar. The article is fairly long, but quite good. Don't be like Trump...read something before commenting.

[BobbyDrake]

16. Anyone who bought a recent copy of the book did so last year.

When Trump started running. Sales from 2016 aren't going to compare. The author is sacrificing nothing so that gullible people will treat him like a folk hero.

If you want to be impressed by nothing, knock yourself out.

[LanternWaste]

24. if you are unable to perceive this as anything other simply as self-promotion, knock yourself out.

"If you want to be impressed by nothing, knock yourself out..."

No more and no less that if you are unable to perceive this as anything other simply as self-promotion, while lacking any objective or supporting evidence to that effect, knock yourself out-- logical fallacies are rather popular and trendy, so I understand your desire to use one.

[BobbyDrake]

25. The evidence of self-promotion is his name in publications. Derp.

He profited for years off of this deal, but now people should feel bad for him? NOPE.

Also, you using "logical fallacy" incorrectly undermines your efforts to look smarter by using the phrase "logical fallacy." Just an FYI.

[PatSeg]

26. Who feels "bad for him"?

I didn't pick up that he was soliciting sympathy. I found him to be very forthright and honest. The fact that Jane Mayer wrote the piece adds a lot of credibility to his story, at least for me.

[Satch59]

27. He was on GMA this morning and agree...

He seemed forthright and feels responsible like he's Dr Frankenstein... He did repeat that all his proceeds were going to charities to support people who Trump is against...like immigration groups and such.

He also said he wouldn't have spoken out if Trump hadn't run for president so it seems he's being pretty upfront...

Scathing New Yorker article...and for some posters here to dismiss it seems like they haven't read it or Trump supporters trolling...

[PatSeg]

28. I am sure we all have regrets

for things we have done in our lives. I also felt his regrets were very sincere and that he is trying to make amends, not money as some people would imply.

I wonder if "Trump trolls" are as inept as the candidate.

[Satch59]

29. They seem to be...

Attacking those here who are correcting their statements with facts...and childish type attacks equals the "man baby" role model. I guess we could question why he didn't come out sooner but maybe he kept thinking the stop Trump movement would take hold? But the timing is actually perfect as the convention starts...

[PatSeg]

32. One would think that perhaps

Donald himself might be hanging out on different forums, but I think his ego would probably give him away. Or.............

[BobbyDrake]

13. That's SOME of the proceeds, not ALL. He's still enriched by what he's trying to pretend to regret.

Pardon me for not being born yesterday.

[PatSeg]

17. Clearly you did not read the article

Your criticisms reflect that.

[BobbyDrake]

19. You don't know what I did or didn't do. Your assumption reflects THAT. nt

[PatSeg]

22. Then you must have missed this part?

<Schwartz told me that he has decided to pledge all royalties from sales of “The Art of the Deal” in 2016 to pointedly chosen charities: the National Immigration Law Center, Human Rights Watch, the Center for the Victims of Torture, the National Immigration Forum, and the Tahirih Justice Center. He doesn’t feel that the gesture absolves him. “I’ll carry this until the end of my life,” he said. “There’s no righting it. But I like the idea that, the more copies that ‘The Art of the Deal’ sells, the more money I can donate to the people whose rights Trump seeks to abridge.”>

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all

I'm just trying to understand your animus towards this writer.

[GusBob]

18. Ya I just fell off the turnip truck myself

You are the one who posted "nowhere to I see any proceeds being donated to charity"

When that is in fact completely not true. One could even posit, its a lie

It appears to me in attacking the Mr Schwartz you are defending Mr Trump

[BobbyDrake]

20. Pathetic. "defending Mr Trump." How about you quote me then?

Quote me "defending Mr Trump" then. Or if you can't, then STFU about my motivations, which you know nothing about.

Are people usually impressed by your ability to put words in other people's mouths as an argumentative tactic? Because I see right through it.

[CajunBlazer]

35. Obviously you didn't read the article

[BobbyDrake]

38. JFC, so I skimmed it. Sue me. He's still making money from it.

Donating one slow year of sales doesn't mean what you think it does.

[CajunBlazer]

39. I am just trying to understand whose side you are on?

Regardless of whether Tony Schwartz made money on "The Art of the Deal" or not, and he made a bundle, he spent 18 months shadowing Trump as he went about doing his business. He attended every meeting, he listened in on every phone call. In addition he spent many hours with Trump and his family in Trump's New York Penthouse and even accompanied Trump when he spent time in his Florida retreat. Arguably he know the real Donald Trump better than anyone outside of Trump's family.

And the picture Schwartz paints of Trump would make Trump supporters have very serious second thoughts if it doesn't scare the hell out of them. I think the article should be spread far and wide and should be read by every voter in this country. Schwartz may have made a bundle of cash on the book, but is making no money calling Trump out, and is instead taking a serious risk confronting him in this manner. Trump carries a grudge.

So I ask again, whose side are you on?

[BobbyDrake]

41. Not yours, if it means browbeating people into agreeing with us.

Summer 2016 on the week Trump is being nominated is beyond a "day late, dollar short" in terms of timing. Schwartz could have spoken up last summer and possibly changed the GOP primary.

He's a zero, not a hero.

[CajunBlazer]

42. Oh, I see....

...you're faulting him for not speaking out sooner. Got it. Well, like everyone else I doubt if you had a clue when Trump threw his hat in the ring that he had a snow ball's chance in Hades of becoming the Republican nominee. No one did, and neither did Schwartz, especially Schwartz because he knew the real Donald and couldn't imagine him in that position.'

So when did you decide that Trump had a real chance at the nomination; that's probably about the time it dawned on Schwartz as well. So if you were Schwartz, when you you have spoken out about Trump, when he was having battle royal with Cruz and Rubio? Would you rather he would have spoken out then, and if the liberal author had been believed by the Republican faithful, would you rather he had deliver the nomination to either Cruz or Rubio.

Or would you rather that he allow Trump become the nominee and then after the all of the other Republican candidates have been eliminated, and then come out and weaken the Republican nominee right before the convention when Trump should be flying the highest. Or perhaps you would rather he had never said anything at all.

If I was a Democratic strategist advising Schwartz (and we don't know he isn't being advised in this matter) I would say this is the absolute perfect time to come out against Trump and inflict maximum damage to the Republican Party this election cycle.

But like everyone else you are entitled to your opinion. However, on DU you shouldn't be surprised when you are asked to defend that opinion once you state it And don't be paranoid, no one is trying to bully you into anything.

[GusBob]

7. Towards the end of the article he discusses his royalties

those from 2016 he is donating to immigrant groups and such

[CajunBlazer]

30. Actually he feels so guilty for writing the book

He admits the did make a ton of money because he got half of the advance and the royalities, but he now has decided to donate all future royalties to charities which Trump is currently hurting. From the article:

Schwartz told me that he has decided to pledge all royalties from sales of “The Art of the Deal” in 2016 to pointedly chosen charities: the National Immigration Law Center, Human Rights Watch, the Center for the Victims of Torture, the National Immigration Forum, and the Tahirih Justice Center. He doesn’t feel that the gesture absolves him. “I’ll carry this until the end of my life,” he said. “There’s no righting it. But I like the idea that, the more copies that ‘The Art of the Deal’ sells, the more money I can donate to the people whose rights Trump seeks to abridge.”

And of course the Donald is not happy with him at all, and essentially threaten him.

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.

[okasha]

37. Ghostwriters are usually paid a flat, rather modest fee.

Last edited Mon Jul 18, 2016, 04:16 PM - Edit history (1)

Trump gets the advance and the royalties.

Edited to add--a person who gets a byline and a split of the proceeds is usually referred to as a co-writer.

[CajunBlazer]

40. Trump wanted the book written so badly....

The great negotiator agreed to evenly split both the advance and the royalties with Schwartz.

[Ilsa]

3. On Ari Rabinhavt's show this morning, they

also reported that the ghostwriter said he had about a five minute attention span. He thought it would be easy to write the book, but instead, he had to spend 18 months listening to Trump's phone calls to find out what was going on.

Someone with so little intellectual ability, to figure out long games, to form coherent strategies, shouldn't be in the WH.

[CajunBlazer]

34. That's in the article - I suggest reading it to to bottom - well worth it

[greymattermom]

4. So which reporter will ask him about this artlcle

Maybe this time he'll lose it in public. So, Mr. Trump, a recent New Yorker article states that you have no attention span and are a sociopath. What do you have to say about it?.....

[hamsterjill]

5. Isn't it quite obvious that Trump is a sociopath?

I mean, seriously. Can't normal, ordinary people see that he is? I exclude Republican extremists from "normal and "ordinary".

[Major Nikon]

10. Wingnuts idolize sociopaths

Ayn Rand patterned at least one of her characters after her "superman", serial killer William Edward Hickman.

[sofa king]

23. I think he's a narcissist.

That's splitting an amoral hair, but there are key differences between sociopaths and narcissists. Both are usually unable or unwilling to experience empathy for others, but narcissists are entirely dependent upon their self-esteem and the fantasies of greatness that they create for themselves. Sociopaths just don't give a damn about what anyone thinks of them.

When that self-esteem crashes, narcissists experience depression and empathy, and often deep regret for the things they have done. That's why W had to spend two years of his Presidency on "vacation," because he knew how bad he was.

Narcissists are easier to manipulate and neutralize than sociopaths. They require a circle of important people who are invariably more adept at scheming and manipulation (i.e. Cheney, Rove), and those people usually manage to exert a large degree of control over the narcissist, while the narcissist himself never stops believing that he's in total control except when he "crashes."

There is a good chance that all of us have watched a narcissist scheme for an undeserved promotion, then fire or drive off the competent workers who see through that person, and then leave a trail of chaos and disarray in the wake as they continue the ladder-climb. Narcissists use the chaos to cover their incompetence and justify their ruthlessness.

George W. Bush is a textbook case, and he ran the United States in just that way. Trump would be hardly different at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

[Raster]

9. “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance"

I still CANNOT BELIEVE that Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. The surreal, it burns.

[Moostache]

11. The Talking Yam is the least qualified candidate in living memory.

The living embodiment of Ebeneezer Scrooge brought to life. A caricature of human life, a mirror to the times and vapidness of Americana circa 2016.

I used to wonder why people would even consider voting for a man like that...but I have given up, because to a person that tries to live empathetically (not always or even frequently succeeding) I have no frame of reference for such sociopathic hubris.

I wish I did better in my life to improve the lives of others who share this brief moment of life on an obscure rock floating in the back waters of an immense universe with me. I'd like to believe that in the end, my life's work and contribution will make it a little more likely that something of humanity and culture live on to see more generations far beyond my time event horizon. It is hard to see that some days, harder still in the reflection of disgusting greed that is Trump or his ilk.

In the end, I realize why I can't understand the mindset that says "TRUMP! Just what we need..." and that reason is quite simply that I have not forsaken my own reason just yet. I think rationally and still have hope at the core of my soul and being that all is not lost and though it is dark and grim at times, there is still that flickering chance for a better tomorrow that is not brought forth by holding anyone down or out, but by lifting everyone up and bringing them in.

Its naive to the core...but it is a far better thing to cling to than guns, religion or greed.

[PatSeg]

21. It feels like we are living in some bizarre

alternate universe. I see photos of relatively normal looking people at his rallies and wonder what on earth are they thinking?

It doesn't seem possible that this is happening, but then I look around the world and see that characters like Trump have risen to great power without much resistance. Silvio Berlusconi of Italy often pops to mind. Like Trump, it seemed like there was no limit to how outrageous he could be and still maintain power. His luck did finally run out, but I have to wonder who were the people who voted for HIM over and over again.

[63splitwindow]

14. For the sake of ALL of us, THIS need to go viral...

" “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,” Schwartz said. “Trump only takes two positions. Either you’re a scummy loser, liar, whatever, or you’re the greatest.” Schwartz noted that Trump’s short attention span has left him with “a stunning level of superficial knowledge and plain ignorance.” "

[whistler162]

15. Ev en the dead don't like him!

[CajunBlazer]

31. K&R If you want to understand the real Donald Trump, read the entire article

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

33. I read "Art of the deal" back in the 80s

Trump seemed like an OK guy in that book. As I came to learn more and more about the Donald I found out he was not the guy he (or his ghost writer) claimed to be.

[CajunBlazer]

36. Trump seemed to an "okay guy" in the book....

....because the author just presented the positive side of Trump.