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Fact check: Trump's book "The Art of the Deal" was ghost-written and the ghostwriter has since disowned it.
1. Summary of the results
The original statement is fully supported by multiple sources. Tony Schwartz was indeed the ghostwriter of "The Art of the Deal" and has explicitly disowned the book. Schwartz spent 18 months with Trump gathering material for the book, including following him around and listening to his phone calls [1]. The book was officially published under "Donald Trump with Tony Schwartz" [2], though Schwartz has stated that Trump did not write any of the book [2].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual details are missing from the original statement:
- Schwartz has called writing the book "the biggest regret of his life" and wishes it "weren't even in print" [3]
- He has donated $375,000 from the book's royalties to causes he believes Trump would "despise" [4]
- Schwartz has suggested the book should be "recategorized as fiction" and said if written today, he would title it "The Sociopath" [2]
- He describes taking the ghostwriting job purely for money and now considers the royalties "blood money" [3]
- Schwartz knew while writing the book that it was "a mistake" and that Trump "was not a different person than he is now" [4]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
While the original statement is factually accurate, it understates the severity of Schwartz's disavowal. The statement doesn't capture the extent of Schwartz's regret or his active efforts to make amends. Several parties have stakes in this narrative:
- Trump's interests: The book helped create a mythical image of Trump that was far from reality [1], benefiting his public persona
- Schwartz's interests: By publicly disowning the book and donating proceeds, he attempts to distance himself from his role in creating Trump's public image
- Publishers' interests: Despite the controversy, the book remains in print and continues to generate sales
- The statement omits Schwartz's characterization of Trump as someone who is "not only willing to lie, but doesn't get bothered by it" [3], which provides important context about why he disowned the book