Donald Trump sends cease-and-desist letter to ghostwriter who claims he 'put lipstick on a pig' to make him look good

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The ghostwriter of Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal says he has received a cease-and-desist letter after making scathing comments about the Republican nominee and claiming his presidency would precipitate “the end of civilisation".

Tony Schwartz was chosen by Mr Trump to help pen his best-selling biography in 1987. But Mr Schwartz said he “put lipstick on a pig" to make the tycoon look good when he spoke out for the first time on Monday.

The book established Mr Trump's status as a celebrity and businessman and is used even now in his Republican campaign as evidence of his success.

Mr Schwartz, a former magazine writer who was paid half of Mr Trump’s $500,000 advance, says he spoke out because of the guilt that would consume him should the billionaire property magnate reach the White House.

In an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, Mr Schwartz said he had been contacted by a lawyer working for Mr Trump in a letter demanding he return all of the royalties he earned from the book. “It’s nuts and completely indicative of who he is ” he added.

Mr Schwartz spent 18 months shadowing Mr Trump for the book and delving into the everyday aspects of his life. His insights into his character included what he said was a short attention span and an overwhelming desire for attention from the public.

He told The New Yorker that if he were to write it again now, the title would be ‘The Sociopath’: “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’s been trying to get work from me for 30 years,” Mr Trump told The New York Times in response. “He wrote me letters. I never liked him.”

A representative for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.