Nov 5, 2018

How Trump negotiates: The Art of the Deal's deal

Jonathan Swan

For the Axios HBO series, we interviewed people who've negotiated with Donald Trump throughout his life in business and in politics. One very Trumpian story came from Peter Osnos, the editor of Trump's 1987 book "The Art of the Deal."

Here's Osnos to Axios/HBO: "When the idea of meeting with Trump came up ... I thought to myself how do we impress Donald Trump? So I went to my shelf and took 'Generations of Winter' by the wonderful Russian writer Vasily Aksyonov. Nice big fat Russian novel."

"We got some black shiny paper and some gold leaf. And we made a cover and we brought it to him and said this could be your book. I think the only thing he said when he saw it was, 'Could be a little bit bigger.'

There was no lawyer. There was no agent. Extraordinarily and very quickly he wanted to do it. Why not? I would say having now been in publishing for a very long time, it's one of the simplest deals that I ever had.

And that's how we brought Donald Trump and the Russians together in 1986."

Go deeper: Inside Trump's negotiating style

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Zachary Basu

Acting Navy secretary resigns over handling of virus-infected ship

Thomas Modly. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned Tuesday after apologizing for comments he made about Capt. Brett Crozier, who was removed when a letter he wrote pleading with the Navy to address the coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt was leaked to the press. The resignation was first reported by Politico.

Why it matters: The controversy over Crozier's removal was exacerbated after audio leaked of Modly's address to the crew, in which he said Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this." After initially backing Modly's decision, President Trump said at a briefing Monday that he would "get involved."

Go deeperArrowUpdated 24 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Ursula Perano

Appeals court allows Texas abortion ban to remain during coronavirus outbreak

Gov. Greg Abbott. Photo: Tom Fox-Pool/Getty Images

A federal appeals court in Texas ruled 2-1 in favor of an executive order by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday that prohibits abortions during the coronavirus outbreak.

The big picture: Abbott last month issued the order banning elective procedures in an effort to save medical supplies like masks and gowns for health workers treating the coronavirus. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton noted one day later that the order applied to abortions — unless the woman's life is at risk.

Go deeperArrow51 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 1,412,103— Total deaths: 81,103 — Total recoveries: 298,352 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 386,800 — Total deaths: 12,285 — Total recoveries: 20,191 — Map.
  3. Federal government latest: Acting Navy secretary resigns over handling of virus-infected ship — Trump removes watchdog overseeing rollout of $2 trillion coronavirus bill.
  4. Business latest: America's food heroes in times of the coronavirus crisis.
  5. World latest: China reopens Wuhan after 10-week coronavirus lockdown.
  6. Wisconsin primary in photos: Thousands gathered to cast ballots in-person during the height of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S.
  7. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy