The co-author of Donald Trump's best-seller "The Art of the Deal" says he regrets writing the 1987 book, and calls the possibility of a Trump presidency "terrifying."
In an interview on ABC News'
"Good Morning America" and in a
New Yorker magazine story posted Monday, Tony Schwartz says he spent 18 months getting to know Trump in 1985 — and feels it's time he spoke up.
"I put lipstick on a pig," Schwartz tells the New Yorker. "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."
"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."
Schwartz tells GMA he stayed silent so long because "we had a successful experience together. I never in a million years thought he would run for president," though he chided the candidate on Twitter just after his announcement.
"You know, it's a terrifying thing. I haven't slept a night through since Donald Trump announced for president because I believe he is so insecure, so easily provoked and not -- not particularly, nearly as smart as people might imagine he is," the president and CEO of the Energy Project tells GMA.
"I do worry that with the nuclear codes he would end civilization as we know it… This is a man who has more sociopathic tendencies than any candidate in my adult life that I've observed."
Schwartz also said he wrote "every word" of the best-selling "The Art of the Deal."
"Donald Trump made a few red marks when I handed him the manuscript, but that was it," he tells GMA.
Trump dismissed Schwartz's remarks, ABC News reports, charging "he's probably just doing it for the publicity."
"Wow. That's great disloyalty, because I made Tony rich,"
Trump tells ABC News. "He owes a lot to me. I helped him when he didn't have two cents in his pocket. It's great disloyalty. I guess he thinks it's good for him — but he'll find out it's not good for him."
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