Introduction
Two blog entries are devoted to the book, The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz. The first one will focus on the work planning to read the book such as interviews, etc. The second blog entry will analyze the book itself. I have known about this book for awhile but have not read it. I have made assumptions about it.
I assume that this is the wheeler-dealer, transactional approach, very different than what I teach: Goal-Oriented Negotiation.
I assume that the Trump approach uses tricks and games.
I assume that planning is not involved.
I assume that this approach is about following your Gut.
Assumptions
I must beware of these assumptions. I assumed for many years the same about Dale Carnegie and his 1937 book, How to Win Friends and Influence Others. Several years ago, I found a copy and to my chagrin, my assumptions were erroneous. The Carnegie negotiation approach was very similar to my negotiation approach.
I made these assumptions about the Trump book based on Trump’s behaviors as President, news reports, and interviews with Tony Schwartz. He claims that he basically wrote the book based on musings and conversations with Trump.
Recently, a friend bought the Trump book and I will read it for the first time and record my observations in this blog entry.
PBS Interview with Co-Author Tony Schwartz (TS)
TS claims that he wrote the book. Trump read it and put some notes on the manuscript. He recounts his initial meeting with Trump. TS had written a 1986 cover story about Trump’s bungled attempt at evicting folks. The cover picture made Trump look like a thug and he loved it. Although it was a critical piece, Trump thought it built his name. They became friends. Trump then got a book deal at age 38. TS suggested The Art of the Deal. Trump agreed and asked TS to write it.
TS described Trump as one with very low attention span and needing constant reassurance. Trump was highly affected by the death of his brother who was greatly intimidated by the low emotional intelligence Fred the Father. Trump wanted to be the opposite of the brother. Fred taught Trump that there was only winners or losers, no gray. Based on Trump’s low attention span, instead of interviews, TS spent a year listening to hundreds of Trump deal-making phone calls.
In these calls, Trump was motivated by getting attention and action. Trump recounts these calls making himself the larger-than-life hero. The callers on the other side viewed Trump’s role differently. Truth does not mean much to Trump so TS retold these stories calling them truthful hyperboles. Since Trump was not powerful 30 years ago, TS did not think it mattered if Trump lied. Using Trump’s perspective, the stories made Trump appear less greedy and more appealing so it was not construed as “Grimy Commerce.” Trump was delighted with the great book reviews and sale.
TS said that he wrote the book as “a lark” and for money. He regretted that he helped to create “a monster” with no soul or conscience or emotional range. TS claims Trump has nothing inside to be introspective about. TS stated that Trump had no interest in him, except for his usefulness.
In regard to his family, Trump seemed contemptuous of his father seeing him as not being a star and having no class. He seemed dismissive of his mom. Trump wanted to be viewed as "the tough guy."
TS indicated he never saw a person “of color” in Trump’s offices.
Roy Cohn
Trump enjoyed his relationship with Cohn who taught him lessons:
Admit nothing,
If one punches, counter punch many, many times.
If one loses, declare a victory.
Trump became a genius at manipulating and owning the media.
So, the PBS interview is a great backdrop before reading the actual book.
Donald Trump's 'Art of the Deal' Ghostwriter Tony Schwartz Speaks Out | MSNBC
Tony Schwartz was interviewed by Rachel Maddow at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He said he regretted writing the book. If he wrote it today, he would call it The Sociopath. TS declared that now Trump is lying about the book, saying he co-wrote.
If he can lie about the book, he can lie about anything. I have no personal animus against Trump since he has no heart or soul. He is all about aggrandizing himself. He is completely compulsive. If he could run for world emperor, he would.
TS received a Cease and Desist order from the Trump campaign demanding that he return all of the royalty payments. TS called this “nuts.”
Trump ghostwriter regrets "The Art of the Deal" 5 years ago.
In this interview on CBS with Major Garrett, TS claims that writing this book was the greatest regret of his life. He stated that he knew Trump as a bad guy with no ethics. He knew that Trump would push the envelope as far as it would go legally.
Shocker: Trump will come for me and ‘I’m leaving,’ says 'Art of the Deal’ coauthor on 2024
In this interview, TS claims Trump invents reality. He spends 99% of his time in a fantasy world. It is like method acting. He is immensely dangerous and wants to be an authoritarian leader. His number one interest is not power but money. He conflates his personal worth with his wealth.
Financial Literacy Video - Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki "The Art of the Deal" - 15 years ago.
Trump declares that most of negotiation is about honesty. A negotiator needs to be straight and earn the respect of others so they will do what you want them to do. You will be dealing with these same people again and again.
President Trump’s first 30 days seems to validate lack of focus and attention. During the first 30, Trump has spoken about or issued Executive Orders on a vast array of topics:
Paper straws v. plastic straws
Stop making the penny coin since it costs 3 cents + to create
Ending NYC congestion pricing
DC Kennedy Center Board and direction
Opening all records of assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK
Canada as the 51st state
Changing the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and issuing a proclamation
Acquiring Greenland
Retaking the Panama Canal
District of Columbia Graffiti
Creating the day after the Super Bowl, national holiday
Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, EU, China, steel
The intent and the result seems to be distraction, diversion and chaos. Is this a wise approach to negotiation?
Political commentator and author Chris Hayes may have captured this attention situation in his book, Siren’s Call. He declares that attention is the leading currency or commodity to be captured. What is described above is a compulsive attention seeking approach-always searching for the “shiny object.”
Case Study: Russia-Ukraine War Negotiations 2025 Trump
Maybe analyzing how Trump negotiates this war will give folks a light into Trump’s negotiation process.
Backdrop: Trump has repeatedly declared that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine during his administration saying that he has good relationship with Russia’s V. Putin. Russia launched “the special military operations,” February, 2022. He also noted that Putin took Ukraine’s Crimea during the Obama years (2014).
Sworn into office at the White House, the new DNI (Director of National Intelligence) Tulsi Gabbard has asserted that NATO and Ukraine set the stage for the Russian invasion.
During Trump’s campaign, he stated that he would end the war within the first 24 hours.
2025 Trump Administration
Trump has stated HIS goal is to end the conflict and stop the killing. Trump has been coy but seemingly during his first 3 weeks he has chatted with Vladimir Putin 2-3 times, possibly setting some of the parameters for the negotiated peace. The February 12th call lasted over an hour. Trump has agreed to visit Russia and Putin, US and there will be a mutual place to visit before the individual country visits, maybe Saudi Arabia. He said that peace negotiations would begin immediately.
(Oddly, the next day, Trump indicated that negotiations had not begun.) No mention of Ukraine or NATO. Do they have a place at the table? Putin dismisses Zelensky and considers Ukraine, illegitimate. Trump relayed this information to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. In responding to a reporter’s question, Trump does not seem to consider Ukraine “an equal member” of the negotiation team. Seemingly, Putin and Trump are in sync.
During Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s visit to Europe he declared hardline stances:
It was unrealistic for Ukraine to return to their pre-2014 borders.
Unrealistic for Ukraine to become part of NATO.
US was focusing on US borders and China, not European borders.
The negotiated peace plan would involve a security guarantee that would not involve US troops. This would be a non NATO mission, a la Korea?
US wants a sovereign and prosperous nation.
(Most odd that one party=Trump is giving many unilateral concessions seemingly without consulting Ukraine so early. 2/14/25 Wall Street Journal Editorial Board termed this, Peace Through Weakness in Ukraine and warned Trump against the One Man Show Negotiation Approach.)
Team Negotiation is challenging. One day after Trump said no US troops on the ground, Vice President JD Vance at the Munich, Germany, meeting talked of US troops on the ground and more tariffs against Russia? Moreover at the 2025 Munich Security Summit, Vance scolded and berated NATO allies and team players New York Times Chief Security Correspondent Steve Erlanger calls Vance’s comments as shocking and causing great anxiety.
Another angle is that Trump dispatched his new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen to meet with Zelensky to discuss economic investment and “earth materials.” Does Ukraine have commodities that Trump wants?
In the mix is Saudi Arabia assisting with the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia?
Case Study 2: Israel/Hama War
Trump proposes that US take over Gaza, removing all 2M Palestinians. Most folks are shocked and declare their opposition especially Jordan and Egypt, yet Trump continues to talk about the Gaza real estate Riviera?
(Odd negotiation strategy to present a shocking, completely objectionable idea.)
Trump threatened Hamas saying that if the hostages were not released as planned, “all hell would break loose.”
Conclusion
In this part one entry on The Art of the Deal is devoted to the pre-work before actually reading and analyzing the book. I listened and read a variety of interviews of the co-author Tony Schwartz. He has declared emphatically that he wrote every word in the book and he doubts that Trump has even read it. He wrote it based on his direct observations of Trump wheeling and dealing over a year period. Schwartz does not say he brought to the book his negotiation philosophy so it will be fascinating to read and to analyze for part two blog entry.
What is clear right now based on the Ukraine/Russia case study is that very little of the negotiations or communications are in line with effective negotiation.
Planning: There really does not seem to be any planning. It seems to be shooting from the hip; whereas, in effective negotiations, planning is so important that I frame it as Stage One.
Clear Goals: The goal or goals are quite confusing. Stopping the killing is most likely what most want, but the goal is super broad and unhelpful.
Team Communication: This is a case that is ripe for team negotiation, but it is clear that there is no “Team” with Trump.
We shall see in the next blog entry how the book approaches negotiation.
Resources
According to Wikipedia:
Trump: The Art of the Deal is a 1987 book credited to Donald J. Trump and journalist Tony Schwartz. Part memoir and part business-advice book, it was the first book credited to Trump, and it helped to make him a household name. It reached number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list, stayed there for 13 weeks, and altogether held a position on the list for 48 weeks.
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