Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter behind President Trump's bestselling 1987 book "The Art of the Deal", says the president's recent attacks of LaVar Ball stem from Trump being "half awed and half frightened by black people."

Trump and Ball have gone back and forth through the media since Ball's son, LiAngelo Ball, and two other UCLA players were released from China after being detained for shoplifting earlier this month.

Asked Wednesday by CNN’s John Berman whether Trump’s attack was down to “what LaVar Ball said or, as some are alleging, how he looks,” Schwartz responded: "Both."

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“So first of all, his father [LaVar Ball] is a tall black man and I think Trump is half awed and half frightened by black people and his only way of dealing with them is to attack them.”