Everyone knows Trump’s the Artist of the Deal (here and here). Except, maybe, for the guy who wrote The Art of the Deal.
The famous instructional by President Trump was ghostwritten by a man named Tony Schwartz, and — to put it mildly — he’s never come out explicitly in favor of a Trump presidency.
It should be no surprise, then, that he seems to suggest the book should be put out of production.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Tony referenced a recent article by The New York Times indicating a whole lotta money lost by the Prez during a decade or so of megadealin’:
“Given the Times report on Trump’s staggering losses, I’d be fine if Random House simply took the book out of print. Or recategorized it as fiction.”
The Times claimed The Donald took a hit to the tune of $1.17 billion, which disabled him from paying taxes until 2005.
Here’s more from TNYT:
By the time his master-of-the-universe memoir Trump: The Art of the Deal hit bookstores in 1987, Donald Trump was already in deep financial distress, losing tens of millions of dollars on troubled business deals, according to previously unrevealed figures from his federal income tax returns. Trump was propelled to the presidency, in part, by a self-spun narrative of business success and of setbacks triumphantly overcome. He has attributed his first run of reversals and bankruptcies to the recession that took hold in 1990. But 10 years of tax information obtained by The New York Times paints a different, and far bleaker, picture of his deal-making abilities and financial condition.
Trump defended himself from the Times in a tweet:
“Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write-offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases. Much was non-monetary. Sometimes considered ‘tax shelter. You would get it by building, or even buying. You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes … almost all real estate developers did – and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport. Additionally, the very old information put out is a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!”
Real estate developers in the 1980’s & 1990’s, more than 30 years ago, were entitled to massive write offs and depreciation which would, if one was actively building, show losses and tax losses in almost all cases. Much was non monetary. Sometimes considered “tax shelter,” ……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2019
….you would get it by building, or even buying. You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes….almost all real estate developers did – and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport. Additionally, the very old information put out is a highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2019
The Art of the Deal sat on the Times best-seller list for 51 weeks.
Schwartz said it should be retitled The Sociopath.
Yeah — he’s definitely not a MAGA kinda guy.
Being that I’m not myself a billionaire, I don’t wanna speak out of turn; but from what I’ve observed, great loss in big business isn’t uncommon. It’s not about how much you lose; it’s about how much you’ve got in the end, compared to how much you had at the start. And given that measurement, crown Donald J. Trump Artist and King.
-Alex
Relevant RedState links in this article: here and here.
See 3 more pieces from me:
This Woman Inseminated This Man, So He Could Give Birth Using His Vagina. As You Do.
Tell Me: Is This How Diversity Really Looks?
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