# An "Art of the Deal" question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743 "2017-01-21T18:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/1 "2017-01-21T18:19:31Z")
Did trump, in “Art of the Deal”, actually advocate stiffing contractors as one of the steps in acquiring wealth? I ask in Cafe Society because it’s a literature question 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/2 "2017-01-24T18:03:21Z")
Many views and no reply. I remember reading the Art of the Deal a long time ago, close to when it first came out. I was impressed by the book at the time as I had not had two decades to see what an ass Trump is. I also didn’t realize that much of the book was ghost written, and that Trump had failed to mention the massive amount of financial help he had received from his Dad. I don’t think it ever advocated stiffing contractors, as I would have tended to remember that, and it would have made Trump look bad. I think I remember Trump saying that some day he might be president. Even then I thought’ “never going to happen.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/3 "2017-01-24T18:24:10Z")
[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-bills-specialrepor-idUSKCN0T214Q20151113) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump has a message for anyone who agrees to do a job for him: If I don’t like your work or I think you’re trying to rip me off, don’t expect to be paid in full. > > The billionaire front-runner to be the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential race says he sometimes refuses to pay bills from contractors he has hired and then forces them to negotiate the final figure down. > > “I’ve had many people that when they work for me they get very rich,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters, but, “sometimes I renegotiate.” Adding: “I’ll do that with probably 10 or 15 percent of contractors.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/4 "2017-01-24T19:15:00Z")
Well that’s maybe not as shady as it sounds. How many of us pay in full if someone tries to rip us off or does substandard work? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/5 "2017-01-24T19:27:15Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Well that’s maybe not as shady as it sounds. How many of us pay in full if someone tries to rip us off or does substandard work? Do you really believe he’s making an honest evaluation of their work or is he just trying to throw his weight around. Not mentioned in the article is that he threatens to ruin their reputation if they don’t give in. Or threatens court. Remember, he can outlast a small local business. There are even cases where the contractor is offered future work. You think he would do that if he truly thought they did shoddy work? ETA: He will also offer a partial payment on the premise that even if the little guy wins in court, he’ll get that or less after paying the lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/6 "2017-01-25T23:48:25Z")
I haven’t read Trump’s book, but I read Conrad Hilton’s autobiography (the one they used to put in Hilton hotel rooms), and he put forth a philosophy that stuck with me. He said that a deal can be considered “good” only if both parties walk away satisfied. That is, the person providing the goods or services feels he was fairly compensated, \*and \*the customer feels that he paid a fair price for what he received. With trump (and, to be fair, a lot of people these days) you get the sense that it’s more about winning, and that you can’t win unless the other guy loses. A rather sad mindset, actually. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-art-of-the-deal-question/777743/7 "2017-01-26T01:04:26Z")
I read AOTD not long after it came out, but I don’t remember such hard bargaining tactics. It may have been in there, but I mostly remember the self-aggrandizement, talking about how hard he worked, how high his standards were, etc. It was only recently that I heard he’d advocated that low-balling tactic, which bleeds into stiffing contractors. If you have really high standards, you have more reason to claim that you’re not stiffing them; they’re just not good enough. I get the feeling that Trump’s stiffing of people is predicated on the notion that if you’re a celebrity who everyone wants to be associated with, you don’t need to worry about repeat business (in contrast to the Conrad Hilton quote above). But that’s not a principle you can readily admit to and recommend to a wide readership (_1. Become a rich celeb; 2. Stiff contractors… 4. Profit!_)