Jane Mayer of The New Yorker magazine interviewed writer Tony Schwartz at his home about his experiences as Donald Trump’s ghostwriter for “The Art of the Deal.”
It is one of the most enlightening articles you will read about Trump.
Last June, as dusk fell outside Tony Schwartz’s sprawling house, on a leafy back road in Riverdale, New York, he pulled out his laptop and caught up with the day’s big news: Donald J. Trump had declared his candidacy for President. As Schwartz watched a video of the speech, he began to feel personally implicated.
Trump, facing a crowd that had gathered in the lobby of Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue, laid out his qualifications, saying, “We need a leader that wrote ‘The Art of the Deal.’ ” If that was so, Schwartz thought, then he, not Trump, should be running. Schwartz dashed off a tweet: “Many thanks Donald Trump for suggesting I run for President, based on the fact that I wrote ‘The Art of the Deal.’ ”
Schwartz had ghostwritten Trump’s 1987 breakthrough memoir, earning a joint byline on the cover, half of the book’s five-hundred-thousand-dollar advance, and half of the royalties. The book was a phenomenal success, spending forty-eight weeks on the Times best-seller list, thirteen of them at No. 1. More than a million copies have been bought, generating several million dollars in royalties. The book expanded Trump’s renown far beyond New York City, making him an emblem of the successful tycoon. Edward Kosner, the former editor and publisher of New York, where Schwartz worked as a writer at the time, says, “Tony created Trump. He’s Dr. Frankenstein.”
Starting in late 1985, Schwartz spent eighteen months with Trump—camping out in his office, joining him on his helicopter, tagging along at meetings, and spending weekends with him at his Manhattan apartment and his Florida estate. During that period, Schwartz felt, he had got to know him better than almost anyone else outside the Trump family. Until Schwartz posted the tweet, though, he had not spoken publicly about Trump for decades. It had never been his ambition to be a ghostwriter, and he had been glad to move on. But, as he watched a replay of the new candidate holding forth for forty-five minutes, he noticed something strange: over the decades, Trump appeared to have convinced himself that he had written the book. Schwartz recalls thinking, “If he could lie about that on Day One—when it was so easily refuted—he is likely to lie about anything.”
It seemed improbable that Trump’s campaign would succeed, so Schwartz told himself that he needn’t worry much. But, as Trump denounced Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” near the end of the speech, Schwartz felt anxious. He had spent hundreds of hours observing Trump firsthand, and felt that he had an unusually deep understanding of what he regarded as Trump’s beguiling strengths and disqualifying weaknesses. Many Americans, however, saw Trump as a charmingly brash entrepreneur with an unfailing knack for business—a mythical image that Schwartz had helped create. “It pays to trust your instincts,” Trump says in the book, adding that he was set to make hundreds of millions of dollars after buying a hotel that he hadn’t even walked through.
In the subsequent months, as Trump defied predictions by establishing himself as the front-runner for the Republican nomination, Schwartz’s desire to set the record straight grew. He had long since left journalism to launch the Energy Project, a consulting firm that promises to improve employees’ productivity by helping them boost their “physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual” morale. It was a successful company, with clients such as Facebook, and Schwartz’s colleagues urged him to avoid the political fray. But the prospect of President Trump terrified him. It wasn’t because of Trump’s ideology—Schwartz doubted that he had one. The problem was Trump’s personality, which he considered pathologically impulsive and self-centered.
Schwartz thought about publishing an article describing his reservations about Trump, but he hesitated, knowing that, since he’d cashed in on the flattering “Art of the Deal,” his credibility and his motives would be seen as suspect. Yet watching the campaign was excruciating. Schwartz decided that if he kept mum and Trump was elected he’d never forgive himself. In June, he agreed to break his silence and give his first candid interview about the Trump he got to know while acting as his Boswell.
“I put lipstick on a pig,” he said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “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.”
If he were writing “The Art of the Deal” today, Schwartz said, it would be a very different book with a very different title. Asked what he would call it, he answered, “The Sociopath.”
I absolutely agree, Diane. Just read the article aloud last night with my wife Ellen. I hope the Clinton campaign will use some excerpts from this article in their TV ads. It’s the most disturbing and frightening portrait of The Donald that I’ve read to date, and that’s saying something!
Jonathan, agreed.
He doesn’t read, has the patience of a gnat. He is all about celebrity, power, and greed. He is both arrogant and ignorant, a dangerous combination for one who would be president
Here are just a few of the articles online, googled, about Melania Trump’s anti Semitic statements, and here dislike of Jews who she says bring on their own trouble. The Jewish GQ writer is still getting death threats from Trump supporters. Very scary stuff.
——————————————————————————–
“Melania Trump Says Jewish Reporter Who Got Death Threats from …
http://www.tabletmag.com/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-reporter-who-got-death-thre...
May 17, 2016 – Today, Melania Trump spoke out for the first time about the episode—and blamed … A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a … Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet and the editor of the …
Melania Trump: Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans …
http://www.dailykos.com/…/-Melania-Trump-Jewish-Journalist-Provoked-NeoNaz...
Jun 6, 2016 – By chance I read the profile of Melania Trump in GQ this weekend. … Jewish people certainly don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing …
‘WTF?’ Melania Trump says Jewish journalist targeted, threatened by …
twitchy.com/…/wtf-melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-targeted-threatened-by-anti-…
May 17, 2016 – Her GQ profile of Melania Trump revealed that the the Slovenian model – and … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from pro-Trump …. When Cruz’s wife says that some writer “provoked” a bunch of …
Melania Trump Interview: GQ’s Julia Ioffe Files Police Report Over …
http://www.inquisitr.com/…/melania-trump-interview-gqs-julia-ioffe-files-police-report-ove...
May 10, 2016 – An unflattering Melania Trump interview & profile in GQ Magazine has prompted criminal threats from Donald Trump’s supporters toward the author, Julia Ioffe. … and old cartoons containing offensive caricatures of Jewish people. … fans anti-semitic death threats against Julia Ioffe https://t.co/c19fxBcUmj …
Trump supporters send anti-Semitic threats to journalist who profiled …
http://www.pri.org/…/journalist-barraged-anti-semitic-threats-after...
Public Radio International
Apr 29, 2016 – Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, pose on the red carpet as they arrive for a gala event in New York, April 26th 2016. … Ioffe is a journalist, who happens to be Jewish, and who happened to write a profile of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, for GQ. … Ioffe is not worried about these implied death threats.
Melania Trump, Like Her Husband, Has No Problem With Anti-Semites …
http://www.dailywire.com/…/melania-trump-her-husband-has-no-problem-anti-hank-berrie...
May 17, 2016 – Trump’s Slovenian wife Melania has essentially patted the anti-Semitic … which was prompted by a piece in GQ by Jewish writer Julia Ioffe that profiled the … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from …
Melania Trump Says Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans
pjvoice.org/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-provoked-neonazi-trump-fans/
Jun 21, 2016 – After profiling Melania Trump in GQ, journalist Julia Ioffe received a deluge of … don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing factual articles.
STRONG reaction by David Frum !!!! to the speech debacle
Read this article today by our own colleague, teacher Ken…all about how Melania and Donald dis-assemble the Republican Convention and the Party.
I apologized the everyone for the redundant posts on Melania and her anti Semitism. I tried to post it but it would go through…so kept trying at 3PM PT…and now just got in at 11 PM PT and find it all over the place. Forgive me for this techie annoyance. Lesson learned. Only post a comment once and then wait a few hours.
Gads…messed that up. Apologize to all for the redundant posts…it would not go through…so tried again…and again…and again. Nuts…you get it.
How weird! I literally just finished the article. It is quite revealing, but I am left with great remorse. Little did Tony Schwartz know he would be among the first to let Donald get away with what has become a national tragedy : the lack of accountability for all of the lies lies lies with a lazy national press corps that is only now taking a little responsibility for the inexcusable rise of this hateful, bigoted, stupid man who could actually be elected. What a scary time we are living in.
Add these articles to the Trump ‘outings’…Melania says Jews make their own trouble…ouch. Here are a few to read from google. Very alarmning stuff…
———————————————————————-
“Melania Trump Says Jewish Reporter Who Got Death Threats from …
http://www.tabletmag.com/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-reporter-who-got-death-thre...
May 17, 2016 – Today, Melania Trump spoke out for the first time about the episode—and blamed … A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a … Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet and the editor of the …
Melania Trump: Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans …
http://www.dailykos.com/…/-Melania-Trump-Jewish-Journalist-Provoked-NeoNaz...
Daily Kos
Jun 6, 2016 – By chance I read the profile of Melania Trump in GQ this weekend. … Jewish people certainly don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing …
‘WTF?’ Melania Trump says Jewish journalist targeted, threatened by …
twitchy.com/…/wtf-melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-targeted-threatened-by-anti-…
May 17, 2016 – Her GQ profile of Melania Trump revealed that the the Slovenian model – and … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from pro-Trump …. When Cruz’s wife says that some writer “provoked” a bunch of …
Melania Trump Interview: GQ’s Julia Ioffe Files Police Report Over …
http://www.inquisitr.com/…/melania-trump-interview-gqs-julia-ioffe-files-police-report-ove...
May 10, 2016 – An unflattering Melania Trump interview & profile in GQ Magazine has prompted criminal threats from Donald Trump’s supporters toward the author, Julia Ioffe. … and old cartoons containing offensive caricatures of Jewish people. … fans anti-semitic death threats against Julia Ioffe https://t.co/c19fxBcUmj …
Trump supporters send anti-Semitic threats to journalist who profiled …
http://www.pri.org/…/journalist-barraged-anti-semitic-threats-after...
Public Radio International
Apr 29, 2016 – Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, pose on the red carpet as they arrive for a gala event in New York, April 26th 2016. … Ioffe is a journalist, who happens to be Jewish, and who happened to write a profile of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, for GQ. … Ioffe is not worried about these implied death threats.
Melania Trump, Like Her Husband, Has No Problem With Anti-Semites …
http://www.dailywire.com/…/melania-trump-her-husband-has-no-problem-anti-hank-berrie...
May 17, 2016 – Trump’s Slovenian wife Melania has essentially patted the anti-Semitic … which was prompted by a piece in GQ by Jewish writer Julia Ioffe that profiled the … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from …
Melania Trump Says Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans
pjvoice.org/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-provoked-neonazi-trump-fans/
Jun 21, 2016 – After profiling Melania Trump in GQ, journalist Julia Ioffe received a deluge of … don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing factual articles.
Searches related to GQ Melania Trump Jewish writer and death threats
“He had long since left journalism to launch the Energy Project, a consulting firm that promises to improve employees’ productivity by helping them boost their “physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual” morale.”
Sorry, but it sounds like this Schwartz guy is a sociopath himself. Then again, he’d have to be to spend 18 months in Trump’s presence and write a 384 page love letter. Incidentally, there is a difference between a biographer and a ghost writer, so don’t think it’s as clear as Mr. Schwartz maintains who actually wrote the book.
Disclaimer: None of the above is to be taken as any defense of Trump. Just a note that he and Schwartz appear to deserve each other.
Agreed. It seems a they are both motivated by greed as a “sprawling house, on a leafy back road in Riverdale, New York” would indicate. I’d like one of those too but I wouldn’t write a book of lies about a sociopath to get it.
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
Is Donald Trump a sociopath or a psychopath — there is only one answer from these two choices? There is no third choice that says none of the above.
But how about a third question asking, both of the above?
Psychologists and psychiatrists still disagree about the exact definitions of sociopathy versus psychopathy, although they all basically agree that they are both antisocial personality disorders.
However, I would tend to agree with GE2L2R’s comment, posted at 3:21 PM. Trump shows most, if not all, of the signs of another personality disorder, Narcissistic personality disorder.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20025568
I agree with Zorba. I have a relative that fits most of the descriptors on the Mayo Clinic website. He reminds me of Donald Trump in many ways. Here is my description of the family member and I think it applies to DT: an egomaniac with an inferiority complex.
But Hillary with the nuclear codes would be OK? I keep hoping you’ll wake up and understand that we don’t want any of them. Partisan politics (polarization) is psychological warfare, keeping us fighting between the two so called parties while the powers that (really) be control both sides. If you feel you MUST vote for a woman, vote for Jill Stein…
2000 redux? No thank you
You have to face the fact that it will be Trump or Clinton, PERIOD. Trump is far worse than Hillary by several magnitudes. This election could go either way since so many have hatred for both candidates. Whatever Tony Schwartz’s character, I think he’s truly remorseful about his book promoting Trump and that his current judgments on Trump are accurate. Bush #2 was a disaster for this country and Trump will be worse than Bush #2.
You will see in my long comment below that I have come to agree with both Jeanne and Joe that the ONLY other choice to defeat Trump (who is the worst sort of megalomaniacal Fascistic oligarch) is to vote for Hillary.
Trump’s bigoted Barbarians have already infiltrated the castle, our White House, our Government…listen to Legislators Sessions, Ernst, etc. and their Repub cohorts in our Congress.
This is NOT a moment in American history that cannot be determined by protest votes.
Sorry for the typo…”it is not a moment in our history to determine our future with a protest vote”…is what I was attempting to say…
Hillary and Donald pose two different threats to world peace . Donald possibly has serious emotional issues, as exemplified by his behavior. But first one has to get to the point where that behavior comes into play. Not knowing anything about foreign affairs may be his greatest plus, he will delegate power. Hillary on the other hand is certainly rational . However her stated policy positions are frightening. Anyone who sees Russia as the greatest threat to world peace is embarking on entering us into a new cold war. We have pushed NATO to the borders of the old Soviet Union. We are now embarking on a further push into the old Soviet Union itself. There should be no doubt that the CIA encouraged a coup, that included Neo Nazi elements in the Ukraine. We seek putting defensive missiles that could be turned into offensive missiles rather quickly, at their door step. Anyone know how to spell Monroe Doctrine? We are building a new generation of battle field grade nuclear weapons. This is MAD and I don’t mean mothers against driving drunk. So on foreign policy, it is a wash. This is not Bush/Cheney this is Obama/Clinton policy . We keep running into this problem on many issues, makes one wonder who the puppet masters are. Where is Ike when you need him?
However, in the last three weeks it has become apparent that the spawn of a Baboon has aligned himself with the far Republican right. Together they will destroy Public Schools, forget about charters vouchers are coming . Together they will destroy what is left of the union movement and return us to the 1920s before the New Deal . His authoritarian personality will endanger First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and petition the government. Stein is out, Hillary is in. I haven’t smoked grass in forty years time to move to Colorado.
Joel Herman,
If any other national leader annoys Trump, he may nuke them. He is very thin-skinned. Like calling Fox News to complain about Kasich and pre-empting the convention, where a mother of a guy who died at Benghazi was speaking.
Hold my nose, vote for Hillary, and put my chips on the downticket races.
Joel,
Not sure whether you caught it, but the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently (last year) moved their doomsday clock ahead to three minutes to midnight (from 5 minutes to midnight set in 2012) largely because of the newly heightened tensions between the US and Russia.
What most Americans are utterly clueless about is that the US and Russia still have tens of thousands of nukes pointed at each other, many of them on hair trigger alert.
This continues to be an exceedingly — existentially — dangerous situation.
Obama, who got a Nobel peace prize based largely on his (unfulfilled) promise to eliminate nuclear weapons, has actually made things worse between Russia and the US in recent years (quite needlessly so) creating tensions not seen since the Cold War with the Soviet union.
Diane,
I have gone from never Trump,never Hillary, to if I have to Hilary, to Hillary with regrets . Trump may be everything we all say about him .
I assure you it is not that easy for a President to just push the button. At several points there would be checks on the the red haired lunatic.
The bigger danger being a perceived first strike against us.
Now if he were to appoint his children to cabinet level positions in State and Defense that might become a possibility .
It is hard to see how he does this with the approval of the Senate, having to survive a filibusterer. Nor would he want to, as he is clueless .
Being the know nothing that he is, he will go about appointing the same neo-cons out of state and defense that Hillary will with differences on the perimeters. The ones that have driven foreign policy for decades whether they are appointed as Political appointees, or from the Bureaucracy . C.W.Mills pegged this one on the head 60 years ago .
The beauty of Obama is that with all his faults in this area, he has kept U.S. forces at home, resisting the pressure to shed American blood frivolously, Hillary wont.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/dont-worry-president-trump-wont-actually-have-his-finger-on?utm_term=.odnY5Okrw#.blyMPzQRJ
I do not need the atom bomb commercial to paint Trump as what he is . I loved LBJ but 55,000 boys later and several close nuclear encounters, the absurdity of that claim against Goldwater is apparent.
Few Americans know that there were several close calls . Including one in 1983 which should send a chill down our spines . As NATO is pushing to do joint militarily exercises with former Soviet block nations. .
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/the-ussr-and-us-came-closer-to-nuclear-war-than-we-thought/276290/
So yes I will vote for Hillary because anybody is better than Trump.
His domestic policy will devastate us. Unlike Reagan who had wimpy Democrats, he will have all three Houses of Government. My best friend as a child became an Air Traffic Controller. I told him to honor the picket line. Thirteen years latter Bill Clinton enabled him to be one of the first in the nation to come back . I know what any of this crew of Republicans will do to American workers , to Americas poor , to Americas Public Schools , to any and every Public Good . The days of Jacob Javits , Nelson Rockefeller, even Richard Nixon are long gone.
If Tony Schwartz feels so bad, let him take his proceeds from the book and donate them to the Clinton campaign. Otherwise this is just more “lipstick on a pig.”
How about a charity to benefit those who got ripped off by Trump “University”?
Crying a river for Schwartz’ conscience. As he tells it, he used his considerable talents to create a false P.R. campaign. Are, those who promote cigarettes or, work for climate change deniers, different? The answer is Yes and No. The selling of Trump, can quickly bring misery and death to a substantial part of the world’s population, without purpose, beyond Donald’s self aggrandizement. The selling of cigarettes, devastates millions of lives, without purpose, except profit. And, the selling of climate change denial, eliminates mankind, for the purpose of self-aggrandizement and riches, for the top 0.1%.
After his death, Lee Atwater’s, too little, too late, remorse, was called into question by his wife. And, Schwartz…?
Schwartz seems to be writing a new book: “The Art of the Double Cross”.
These people are just pathetic.
Here are just a few of the articles online, googled, about Melania Trump’s anti Semitic statements, and here dislike of Jews who she says bring on their own trouble. The Jewish GQ writer is still getting death threats from Trump supporters. Very scary stuff.
——————————————————————————–
“Melania Trump Says Jewish Reporter Who Got Death Threats from …
http://www.tabletmag.com/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-reporter-who-got-death-thre...
May 17, 2016 – Today, Melania Trump spoke out for the first time about the episode—and blamed … A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a … Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet and the editor of the …
Melania Trump: Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans …
http://www.dailykos.com/…/-Melania-Trump-Jewish-Journalist-Provoked-NeoNaz...
Jun 6, 2016 – By chance I read the profile of Melania Trump in GQ this weekend. … Jewish people certainly don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing …
‘WTF?’ Melania Trump says Jewish journalist targeted, threatened by …
twitchy.com/…/wtf-melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-targeted-threatened-by-anti-…
May 17, 2016 – Her GQ profile of Melania Trump revealed that the the Slovenian model – and … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from pro-Trump …. When Cruz’s wife says that some writer “provoked” a bunch of …
Melania Trump Interview: GQ’s Julia Ioffe Files Police Report Over …
http://www.inquisitr.com/…/melania-trump-interview-gqs-julia-ioffe-files-police-report-ove...
May 10, 2016 – An unflattering Melania Trump interview & profile in GQ Magazine has prompted criminal threats from Donald Trump’s supporters toward the author, Julia Ioffe. … and old cartoons containing offensive caricatures of Jewish people. … fans anti-semitic death threats against Julia Ioffe https://t.co/c19fxBcUmj …
Trump supporters send anti-Semitic threats to journalist who profiled …
http://www.pri.org/…/journalist-barraged-anti-semitic-threats-after...
Public Radio International
Apr 29, 2016 – Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, pose on the red carpet as they arrive for a gala event in New York, April 26th 2016. … Ioffe is a journalist, who happens to be Jewish, and who happened to write a profile of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, for GQ. … Ioffe is not worried about these implied death threats.
Melania Trump, Like Her Husband, Has No Problem With Anti-Semites …
http://www.dailywire.com/…/melania-trump-her-husband-has-no-problem-anti-hank-berrie...
May 17, 2016 – Trump’s Slovenian wife Melania has essentially patted the anti-Semitic … which was prompted by a piece in GQ by Jewish writer Julia Ioffe that profiled the … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from …
Melania Trump Says Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans
pjvoice.org/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-provoked-neonazi-trump-fans/
Jun 21, 2016 – After profiling Melania Trump in GQ, journalist Julia Ioffe received a deluge of … don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing factual articles.
Yesterday, Diane posted rather silly info on Melania Trump’s arms, and many of us joined in the fun, and today the comments on that post are up close to 100.
Among those comments from readers, including some who are commenting here, including me, were some from one who self-identified as Victoria Locke. This new and unknown person started the section with the first comment which immediately attacked and denigrated Diane. And then this person continued to attack almost everyone who has been a member of this blog since Diane conceived it years ago. Most of us are educators who are thankful for Diane’s appropriate role as the education fulcrum/arbiter where we can connect and share information.
I am a frequent commenter, and rapidly Victoria Locke zeroed in on me for writing in support of Diane, and for calling Locke a “troll”….and ‘she’ thereafter referred to me as “a Jewish American Princess”. I did not respond, but many members joined with Diane in chastising this bigoted person. I thank you all for your supportive words re anti Semitism having no place here, nor anywhere. This was a first for me, though as an outspoken Progressive/progressive Dem, and a Leftie, I am occasionally attacked with other ugly name calling. This awakened me to the deep hatred of these trolls for people of the Jewish faith, since that was the worst insult she could hurl at me. Beware…this is the tone set by Donald Trump.
Supporters of Trump have sent death threats to the writer whose article on Melania, bland though it was, brought out phenomanal anti-Semitic insults and worse. This is all spelled out online for those who might want more info.
Last night I watched the Repub Convention…and again I was alarmed at the invocation given by a carefully chosen Black minister who spoke at great length in his prayer for Trump, in the name of Jesus, OUR LORD. It could not have been more clear that he chose, of the three Abrahamic religions, to respect and pray for only Christians, leaving out Muslims and Jews…and also the vast array of religions practiced by our fellow citizens. The actor who spoke also chose to define himself as an exemplary Christian even to his name, and insisted that our President Barak Obama is definitley a Muslim.
So, after ‘sleeping on it’ and re-reading the choice of words used by this disruptive person known at Victoria Locke, and hearing some of the hate-filled speakers at the Trump convention, I am convinced Locke was assigned to this blog merely to disrupt the conversation. It could be that the privatizers would do this, but in this case it is more likely it is the Trump organization…for he/she attempted to show that she was a supporter of public ed, knew all about the Turkish coup and Gulen, but he/she continually used language to defame Dems/Liberals as “giving handouts, giving pensions, giving free things” to voters for Dem candidates.
I also listened to Hillary Clinton being interviewed by Charlie Rose late last night. He was very intense and insisted she answer the hard questions…which she did. As many here know, I have been a Bernie supporter all the way and have written much against Hillary. But with yesterday’s lessons, I want my friends and colleagues to know that I now endorse Hillary and will vote for her. it is too terrifying to think of a Trump dictatorship, full of crazed gun wielding bigots, ruling America.
Please Beware…As a public policy specialist, I agree with Professor Lakeoff that linguistics is key to political strategy. I am convinced that we will have many of these trolls invading the various blogs we frequent and that we must be able to identify and reject their intrusion.
Ellen Lubic,
Thanks for the comment. I blocked Victoria Locke. And comment she makes must be approved by me. Her last comment, which I deleted, accused me of being a double agent for the charter billionaires and suggested that readers find out who was paying me to spend so much time blogging.
She is either a troll or seriously deranged.
Diane…her comments toward you and your motives show that she is both a troll…and seriously deranged.
A double agent for the CCA? (Central Charter Agency)
Are you trained in the martial arts? Or just the regular kind? (painting, sculpting and drawing)
Seriously deranged would describe the first night of the Republican convention. If not for Colbert and his gutsy comedy, I could swear I was watch an old news reel from the 1940’s.
Cast my vote for seriously deranged.
Vale Math ,
I have sworn off both conventions with the exceptions of Warren’s and Bernie’s speeches. I will DVR it . Highlights and summaries are quite enough to make me ill.
A ghost writer is not the same as a single author.
I’d say that the claim by Schwartz that he wrote the book is just as much a lie as that Trump wrote it. Schwartz may have put the words down in a coherent form, but I suspect that most of the ideas were probably Trump’s.
In my opinion, neither of these two clowns is a reliable source. It looks to me like Schwartz is now trying to capitalize on Trump’s candidacy. Trump is a con artist but so is Tony Schwartz.
Bingo.
The Atlantic: DailyTuesday Jul 19, 20
Much Ado About Melania: Donald Trump’s wife delivered a speech at the GOP Convention last night that appeared to plagiarize Michelle Obama—or, if you prefer, Rick Astley and Twilight Sparkle. It was an opportunity for Melania to humanize her husband, but instead it placed the shortcomings of Trump’s campaign on center stage—and it’s likely to have a lasting impact.
Re: Melania’s Michelle Obama speech. I’m really starting to think Trump & Co. are deliberately trying to throw the election, but are about as flabbergasted as the rest of us that it’s not working. They have done every possible outrageous thing you can think of, and still people flock to them. I’m starting to think they stay up at night thinking of something outrageous that would finally turn people against them.
Melania’s speech is a perfect point. Anyone vaguely liberal-ish supporting Trump (and there are some) would be put off merely that she plagiarized a speech. The right-wingers who are the majority of his supporters probably don’t care all that much about plagiarism per se, but it’s got to rub them pretty raw that she would plagiarize Michelle Obama of all people. Seems like a guaranteed two-fer to turn off all of his supporters, but, again, it appears not to be working. He’s got to be wondering what else he could possibly do to piss enough people off so they’ll stop following him and leave him alone. I’m waiting for him to moon the crowd at the convention or something. Or worse.
Given the choices in this election, I’d have to say that plagiarism is the least of our worries.
“Trump & Co. are deliberately trying to throw the election…”
That would be a truly artful deal.
But given the folks involved, it would not be at all surprising.
PS mooning would just set the crowd on fire — figuratively, of course.
I think he would have to literally set them on fire to make them dislike him.
I just took a quiz in the New York Times (7/18/16) that seemed somewhat relevant and thought others might want to try their luck.
“The Narcissist Next Door” – Jane E. Brody
[Begin quote]
Does this sound like anyone you know?
*Highly competitive in virtually all aspects of his life, believing he (or she) possesses special qualities and abilities that others lack; portrays himself as a winner and all others as losers.
*Displays a grandiose sense of self, violating social norms, throwing tantrums, even breaking laws with minimal consequences; generally behaves as if entitled to do whatever he wants regardless of how it affects others.
*Shames or humiliates those who disagree with him, and goes on the attack when hurt or frustrated, often exploding with rage.
*Arrogant, vain and haughty and exaggerates his accomplishments; bullies others to get his own way.
*Lies or distorts the truth for personal gain, blames others or makes excuses for his mistakes, ignores or rewrites facts that challenge his self-image, and won’t listen to arguments based on truth.
These are common characteristics of extreme narcissists as described by Joseph Burgo, a clinical psychologist, in his book “The Narcissist You Know.” While we now live in a culture that some would call narcissistic, with millions of people constantly taking selfies, spewing out tweets and posting everything they do on YouTube and Facebook, the extreme narcissists Dr. Burgo describes are a breed unto themselves. They may be highly successful in their chosen fields but extremely difficult to live with and work with.
According to the Mayo Clinic, people with a narcissistic personality disorder think so highly of themselves that they put themselves on a pedestal and value themselves more than they value others. They may come across as conceited or pretentious. They tend to monopolize conversations, belittle those they consider inferior, insist on having the best of everything and become angry or impatient if they don’t get special treatment.
[End quote]
Anybody you know?
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/18/the-narcissist-next-door/?em_pos=small&emc=edit_sc_20160718&nl=science-times&nl_art=7&nlid=63316038&ref=headline&te=1
That describes pretty much every President who ever was and ever will be.
The Founders could have put it in the Constitution as a requirement for the Presidency
“No person except a natural born narcissist, or a narcissist of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President”
But they undoubtedly figured that was not necessary since only narcissists would run.
Washington, Lincoln and Carter are rare exceptions.
Re Trump’s potential transition chief: National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum recently announced it is taking orders for Chris Cheistie Bobblehead figure.
Here are just a few of the articles online, googled, about Melania Trump’s anti Semitic statements, and here dislike of Jews who she says bring on their own trouble. The Jewish GQ writer is still getting death threats from Trump supporters. Very scary stuff.
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“Melania Trump Says Jewish Reporter Who Got Death Threats from …
http://www.tabletmag.com/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-reporter-who-got-death-thre...
May 17, 2016 – Today, Melania Trump spoke out for the first time about the episode—and blamed … A GQ reporter who dug into her family’s past—turning up the existence of a … Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet and the editor of the …
Melania Trump: Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans …
http://www.dailykos.com/…/-Melania-Trump-Jewish-Journalist-Provoked-NeoNaz...
Jun 6, 2016 – By chance I read the profile of Melania Trump in GQ this weekend. … Jewish people certainly don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing …
‘WTF?’ Melania Trump says Jewish journalist targeted, threatened by …
twitchy.com/…/wtf-melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-targeted-threatened-by-anti-…
May 17, 2016 – Her GQ profile of Melania Trump revealed that the the Slovenian model – and … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from pro-Trump …. When Cruz’s wife says that some writer “provoked” a bunch of …
Melania Trump Interview: GQ’s Julia Ioffe Files Police Report Over …
http://www.inquisitr.com/…/melania-trump-interview-gqs-julia-ioffe-files-police-report-ove...
May 10, 2016 – An unflattering Melania Trump interview & profile in GQ Magazine has prompted criminal threats from Donald Trump’s supporters toward the author, Julia Ioffe. … and old cartoons containing offensive caricatures of Jewish people. … fans anti-semitic death threats against Julia Ioffe https://t.co/c19fxBcUmj …
Trump supporters send anti-Semitic threats to journalist who profiled …
http://www.pri.org/…/journalist-barraged-anti-semitic-threats-after...
Public Radio International
Apr 29, 2016 – Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, pose on the red carpet as they arrive for a gala event in New York, April 26th 2016. … Ioffe is a journalist, who happens to be Jewish, and who happened to write a profile of Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, for GQ. … Ioffe is not worried about these implied death threats.
Melania Trump, Like Her Husband, Has No Problem With Anti-Semites …
http://www.dailywire.com/…/melania-trump-her-husband-has-no-problem-anti-hank-berrie...
May 17, 2016 – Trump’s Slovenian wife Melania has essentially patted the anti-Semitic … which was prompted by a piece in GQ by Jewish writer Julia Ioffe that profiled the … Melania Trump says that Jewish reporter who got death threats from …
Melania Trump Says Jewish Journalist “Provoked” NeoNazi Trump Fans
pjvoice.org/…/melania-trump-says-jewish-journalist-provoked-neonazi-trump-fans/
Jun 21, 2016 – After profiling Melania Trump in GQ, journalist Julia Ioffe received a deluge of … don’t provoke NeoNazi death threats by writing factual articles.
Been trying to post a longish comment suggesting reading links from google re Melania’s hatred for Jews, particularly the GQ Jewish writer of an article about her. Now this writer is getting endless death threats from Trump supporters…and Melania says it is the fault of the Jews and they bring it on themselves. If my links to not come through, please go to google and read about this…horrifying what these two egomaniacs are doing in urging all this hatred…and the loonies feel free now to be openly aggressive.
If Hillary selects Secretary of Labor, Perez, as V.P.,it would make some of us feel better.
Vilsack is more of the same, a mislabeled Democrat. If elected with Hillary, expect diminished prospects for the 99%, and, more riches for the 0.1%. I know, Trump is worse.
Linda,
Perez is a no go . He is acting as a cheerleader for the administration .
He pushed the Fast Track Bill and the TPP . .
Sorry almost every progressive group is against the TPP and Fast Track Trade Authority. Environmental,Consumer, Food and Water Watch, Labor… 2000 progressive groups oppose it. Only 26 Democrats sided with the President. It has become a flash point on the left and the right.
A few weeks ago he goes on Bill Maher the two of them are laughing it up slapping knees. If you can’t get a job with a 5% unemployment rate you must be a misfit. Everything is peachy-keen. .Why jobs are “falling like lemon drops”. That’s why the federal funds rate is effectively zero, 0.5%.
Why the worker participation rate of prime age workers is at or near record lows . Why millennials in NYC are earning 20% less than the previous generation.
I will vote for Hillary. But perhaps the American people are stupid .Perhaps a good portion of the Democratic base is stupid,which is why they voted for Hillary . So just tell them that everything is just ducky .
Then wonder why such a large portion of them are willing to vote for the demagogue.
This is a excellent/horrible article that should be required reading for all interested in this election (and that should be at least those who are voters!).
Reblogged this on As a Writer… and commented:
This encouraged me to read more of Tony’s interviews. It gives some insight, honestly. It shows the type of person that Trump can be. It’s depicted through the eyes of another person, a person who knew him, in a way.