Trump Hasn’t Given One Cent Of Book Royalties To Charity, Ghostwriter Says

Following President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the DACA “Dreamers” immigration program Tuesday, the man who ghost-wrote Trump’s memoir slammed the president on Twitter for not giving any of the book's proceeds to charity. Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” announced he'd be giving his portion of royalties to help immigration charities.

“Trump hasn’t given $1 of Art of Deal royalties to charity. I give 100% of mine. All my donations for now will go to endangered immigrants,” Schwartz posted Tuesday.

Schwartz has often publicly denounced the president in the past. The ghostwriter expressed a “deep sense of remorse” for what he perceived as his helping to create Trump, he told the New Yorker last year during Trump’s campaign. Schwartz also said that if he were writing the book today, he’d give it a rather different title: “The Sociopath.” He said at the time that, should Trump be elected, there was an “excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”

After publication in 1987, “The Art of the Deal” spent more than 48 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Schwartz received half of the books $500,000 advance and half of all future royalties. Schwartz made a similar announcement regarding the book’s proceeds in October in an effort to assuage his guilty conscience over “putting lipstick on a pig.” The author donated $55,000 in royalties from the memoir to the National Immigration Law Justice Center.

More than six months into Trump’s fledgling presidency, Schwartz is still volleying shots at the man he once helped to portray as a flourishing real estate mogul.

“Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and congress leave him no choice,” Schwartz tweeted in August. “Trump’s presidency is effectively over. Would be amazed if he survives till end of the year. More likely resigns by fall, if not sooner.”