'Art of the Deal' author regrets book, says Trump presidency would be 'terrifying'

NEW YORK, July 19 (UPI) -- The author of Donald Trump's bestselling book The Art of the Deal said he regrets ever writing the book and describes it as putting "lipstick on a pig."

Tony Schwartz, essentially the ghost writer of the 1987 bestseller, told The New Yorker in an interview published this week that he feels "deep remorse" for giving Trump the platform that first lifted him to celebrity status.

Schwartz said Trump's image in the book is largely a myth he created and called a Trump presidency a "terrifying" possibility because of the mogul's true temperament and personality. In reality, he says Trump is a "sociopath."

"I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes," Schwartz told the magazine, "there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization."

In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America, Schwartz said he finally decided to break his thirty year silence on the subject when it became clear he would win the nomination.

"I haven't slept a night through since Donald Trump announced for president," Schwartz said, "because I believe he is so insecure, so easily provoked and not ... nearly as smart as people might imagine he is," he said. "I do worry that with the nuclear codes, he would end civilization as we know it."

He described his former subject as "a man who has more sociopathic tendencies than any candidate in my adult life that I've observed."

When asked to respond about Schwartz's comments in the article, Trump told The New Yorker: He's probably just doing it for the publicity.

"That's great disloyalty, because I made Tony rich. He owes a lot to me," Trump said. "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."