The author of Trump’s “Art of the Deal” just called for Trump’s entire family to be sent to prison

Few people know as much about how Donald Trump wants to portray his past than Tony Schwartz, the man who actually wrote Trump’s supposed “autobiography” The Art of the Deal. His role as Trump’s ghostwriter was something he later came to regret, saying in a New Yorker article before the election about the experience:

“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.”

Unfortunately, his words were ignored by enough of the voting public in three key swing states at the time that Trump was elected anyway despite losing the popular vote.

Now, Schwartz who has perhaps the most direct insight into Trump’s pre-presidential life has commented on the article published yesterday in The New York Times that provides a long and detailed account of the tax scams and outright fraud that helped build Trump and his family’s riches. The article undermined the carefully constructed image that the president had built of himself as a self-made billionaire by puncturing the myth that he only received a “small” $1 million loan from his father which he had to pay back with interest when he actually received the equivalent at least $413 million in 2018 dollars.

Schwartz was brutal in his assessment of Trump after reading The Times‘ report of financial fraud.

With many Americans now agreeing with Schwartz’s recommendations on where the entire Trump family belongs now that the details of his malfeasance have been revealed, they must now face the reality that the President will never face a reckoning for his multiple misdeeds as long as Republicans continue to hold majorities in both houses of Congress. The only solution to changing that situation is to vote the Republicans out of office in the midterm elections next month.

It’s in your hands now people. Act!

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Some original reporting by Jane Mayer in The New Yorker.

Vinnie Longobardo

is the Managing Editor of Washington Press and a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile, & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.