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Is the Trump family destroying Donald's
presidency from the inside?
Arwa
Mahdawi
The president’s niece Mary has reportedly written a
‘salacious’ book about him. It seems that no one hates the Trumps as much as
they hate each other
Revenge, as
Mary Trump seems well aware, is a dish best served cold. Twenty years after a
bitter familial feud over her grandfather’s will, Donald Trump’s niece looks
like she is finally about to wreak vengeance on her uncle.
The Daily
Beast reported on Monday that Mary, 55, who is the daughter of Donald’s late
brother Fred Trump Jr, has written a “harrowing and salacious” book about the
president. Too Much and Never Enough will be published in the US on 28 July, a
month before the Republican National Convention. The timing is clearly designed
to do maximum damage.
Why the bad
blood? Well, for one thing, Mary reportedly blames Donald for mistreating her
alcoholic father – behaviour she believes contributed to his death from a heart
attack at the age of 42. Then there was the fight over Fred Trump Sr’s estate
in 2000. Mary and her brother, Fred Trump III, claimed they were dealt with
unfairly in their grandfather’s will as a result of “fraud and undue influence”
by Donald and two of his siblings. The ill will is said to have escalated when
Donald, in retaliation for the lawsuit, cut off medical insurance for Fred
III’s seriously ill infant son, who required round-the-clock care. Fred III was
quoted as saying: “Our family puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional.”
Dysfunctional
is an understatement. The appearance-obsessed Trumps project an image of unity,
but, behind the polished facade, they seem to loathe and distrust each other.
This is not surprising, considering that one of Donald’s favourite mantras to
his kids growing up was reportedly: “Don’t trust anyone.” According to a GQ
profile of Donald Trump Jr, the president used to ask his children whether they
trusted him. When they replied: “Of course,” he would tell them off for not
learning their lesson. Maybe he had a point: Mary’s book (which is also said to
contain “damning” comments from Donald’s sister, the retired federal judge
Maryanne Trump Barry) marks the first time a Trump has written a critical
tell-all about the president, but I would be surprised if it were the last time
one of his own undermined him. The question is: which Trump will turn on the
president next?
Donald
probably does not need to worry much about his oldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr:
they seem too stupid to be scheming. (Years of unfettered hair gel abuse may
have rotted their brains.) Ivanka, however, seems more than capable of
sacrificing dear daddy to advance her ambitions. Indeed, an interesting feature
of Trump’s presidency has been the frequent “leaks” to the press declaring how
Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are diligently working behind the scenes
to exert a moderating influence on the president. If these mysterious leaks are
to be believed, Javanka have saved us from Donald’s worst instincts.
But Ivanka
is too obvious. It is always the quiet ones you have to watch out for – and you
don’t get much quieter than Melania Trump. The first lady says so little that
Ivanka has reportedly nicknamed her “the Portrait”; Melania, in turn, calls
Ivanka “the Princess”.
Melania may
be taciturn, but she is no dummy – nor is she a pushover. According to a new
unauthorised biography of Melania (which the White House has dismissed as
“fiction”), an enterprising Ivanka tried to rename the First Lady’s Office the
“First Family Office”, but Melania was having none of it. She also, apparently,
put an end to Ivanka treating the White House as if it was her own home. In
addition, it has been widely reported that she used her husband’s presidency as
an opportunity to renegotiate her prenuptial agreement – staying in New York
during the first few months he was in office as leverage for negotiations.
“That woman! She will be the end of him,” one of Trump’s friends was reportedly
overheard saying about Melania’s refusal to move to Washington. Who knows,
those may be prophetic words. Perhaps Melania will end up finishing what Mary
has started.
Arwa
Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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Donald Trump’s niece reveals in new book that she
leaked details of his 'fraudulent' tax schemes, alleges he contributed to his
brother’s death and says his retired federal judge sister disapproves of him
Mary Trump, 55, is the daughter of Donald's late brother Fred Trump Jr
She is the oldest of all the grandchildren of Fred
Trump Sr, Donald's father
Mary has reportedly written a tell-all book, Too Much
And Never Enough, which is due out in August to coincide with the Republican
National Convention
The book will detail family feuds and uncomfortable
allegations about her father
Fred Trump Jr, her father, died in 1981 from
alcoholism and the family broke apart
Mary outs herself as source of bombshell 2018 NYT
story about Trump's finances, which alleged he was involved in 'fraudulent' tax
schemes
It will be the first time that a Trump family member
has published an expose
By HARRIET
ALEXANDER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED:
07:23, 15 June 2020 | UPDATED: 12:15, 15 June 2020
Donald
Trump's niece has reportedly written a 'harrowing and salacious' book about her
uncle in which she details how and why she leaked family tax information to the
New York Times - and delves into family feuds.
Mary Trump,
55, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, is due to publish Too Much And
Never Enough in August, to coincide with the Republican National Convention.
The book
will reportedly lay bare how his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, an 83-year-old
retired federal judge, disapproves of Trump's presidency.
Trump Barry
had conversations with Mary in which she expressed 'damning thoughts about her
brother,' The Daily Beast reported.
The book
will also allege that Trump and his father, Fred Trump Sr, contributed to the
death of Trump's alcoholic elder brother Fred Trump Jr by failing to help him.
Trump has
previously spoken of his regret at the death of Fred Trump Jr, aged 42, in
1981.
Simon &
Schuster, the publishers, are said to be remaining tight-lipped about the
content of the book - the first expose of Trump written by a family member.
But The
Daily Beast reported that it will be an explosive account from within the Trump
dynasty.
The New
York Times's October 2018 investigation into Trump's financial affairs - for
which Mary reveals herself to be the source - punctured the carefully-curated
image of Trump as a self-made tycoon.
The paper
found that Trump had received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his
father’s real estate empire.
The Times
also alleged that Trump was involved in 'fraudulent' tax schemes, allegations
which the president's lawyer strongly
denied.
The Daily
Beast knew that Mary was the source of the family tax information, because they
followed up The New York Times's report with a story about how the
investigations team fell apart after one of the reporters, David Barstow,
continued to pursue the story without his colleagues, with the aim of writing a
book.
The Daily
Beast did not reveal her identity at the time.
The bad
blood between Trump and his niece dates back 20 years, to a fight over Fred
Trump Sr.’s will, and the actions he took to cut off financial and medical
support for her brother’s ill child.
Trump's
three surviving siblings - Maryanne; Robert, now 72; and Elizabeth, now 74 -
all agreed with Trump in an argument over Fred Sr's will.
Mary and
her brother Fred III argued that the will was 'procured by fraud and undue
influence', and that they should have had a larger share of the inheritance.
Mary and
Fred III were then at loggerheads with their aunts and uncles - Trump and the
other three - over care for Fred III's son William, who was born with cerebral
palsy.
'My aunts
and uncles should be ashamed of themselves,' Mary said, in a rare 2000
interview.
'I'm sure
they are not.'
The dispute
was settled before the election, and Mary and Fred III have kept a low profile
ever since.
But that
has not stopped her documenting Maryanne's concerns about Trump.
And it also
led her to write, The Daily Beast claimed, that Trump and his father escalated
Fred Jr's descent into alcoholism.
Trump
himself has spoken about Fred Jr's sad ending, and expressed rare regret.
'I do
regret having put pressure on him,' to join the family business, Trump said, in
a 2019 interview with The Washington Post.
Trump said
he should have accepted that, despite Fred Jr being the oldest, running the
family business 'was just something he was never going to want.'
He added:
'It was just not his thing.
'I think
the mistake that we made was we assumed that everybody would like it.'
He said
that because both he and his father wanted Fred Jr involved, 'there was sort of
a double pressure put on him'.
The
president stopped short of accepting any blame in his death, however.
'I don’t
think there was much we could do at the time,' he said.
'Things
have been studied and learned right now that are much different.'
The book is
believed likely to send shock waves through Washington and the Trump family,
just months before the election.
It will
also come hot on the heels of John Bolton’s much-anticipated memoir The Room
Where it Happened.
Former
national security advisor Bolton's book was expected to be out in the spring,
but the White House successfully managed to delay publication.
The book is
now due on shelves on June 23, although the White House once again tried to
block it, citing 'classified information'
Revealed: The Family Member Who Turned on Trump
BAD BLOOD
The president’s niece Mary Trump is set to publish a
tell-all this summer—and to reveal that she was a primary source for The New
York Times’ investigation into Trump’s taxes.
Lachlan
Cartwright
Senior
Reporter
Updated
Jun. 15, 2020 4:14PM ET / Published Jun. 14, 2020 7:58PM ET
Donald
Trump’s niece, his deceased brother’s daughter, is set to publish a tell-all
book this summer that will detail “harrowing and salacious” stories about the
president, according to people with knowledge of the project.
Mary Trump,
55, the daughter of Fred Trump Jr. and eldest grandchild of Fred Trump Sr., is
scheduled to release Too Much And Never Enough on July 28, Simon & Schuster
confirmed Monday, just weeks before the Republican National Convention.
One of the
most explosive revelations Mary will detail in the book, according to people
familiar with the matter, is how she played a critical role helping The New
York Times print startling revelations about Trump’s taxes, including how he
was involved in “fraudulent” tax schemes and had received more than $400
million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire.
As she is
set to outline in her book, Mary was a primary source for the paper's Pulitzer
Prize-winning investigation, supplying Fred Trump Sr.’s tax returns and other
highly confidential family financial documentation to the paper.
Details of
the book are being closely guarded by its publisher, Simon & Schuster, but
The Daily Beast has learned that Mary plans to include conversations with
Trump’s sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, that contain
intimate and damning thoughts about her brother, according to people with
knowledge of the matter.
Mary Trump
has kept out of the public eye and has not spoken publicly in decades—but in
2000, amidst a bitter family court battle over Fred Trump Sr.’s will, she told
the New York Daily News, "Given this family, it would be utterly naive to
say it has nothing to do with money. But for both me and my brother, it has
much more to do with that our father [Fred Jr.] be recognized," she said.
Fred Trump
Jr., the firstborn son and once the heir apparent to his father’s real estate
empire, worked for Trans World Airlines after turning his back on the family
business.
He died in
1981 aged just 42 from a heart attack owing to complications from his
alcoholism, leaving behind a son, Fred the 3rd, and daughter Mary, who has a
Ph.D. in clinical psychology.
The
circumstances of Fred Trump Jr.’s descent into alcoholism are also aired in the
book, with allegations that Donald and Fred Trump Sr. contributed to his death
and neglected him at critical stages of his addiction.
In a 2019
interview, Donald Trump admitted to pressuring his brother over his career
choices but said he had come to regret it. “I do regret having put pressure on
him,” Trump told The Washington Post. Discussing his brother and the family
business Trump said it “was just something he was never going to want” to do.
“It was
just not his thing... I think the mistake that we made was we assumed that
everybody would like it. That would be the biggest mistake... There was sort of
a double pressure put on him,” Trump admitted.
After Fred
Jr.’s children brought their messy court case against the family—contesting
their grandfather’s will and alleging it was “procured by fraud and undue
influence” on the part of Donald and his siblings—they highlighted Donald’s
callous treatment of family members as he, along with siblings Maryanne and
Robert, cut off the medical benefits to his nephew’s sick child William, who
was born with cerebral palsy. The move, the family said at the time, was
payback for Mary and Fred the 3rd’s challenge to the will.
That court
case produced a treasure trove of confidential and highly sensitive Trump
family financial documents, including Fred Trump Sr.’s tax returns, which
almost two decades later would fall into the hands of The New York Times and
form the basis for one of the most stunning pieces of journalism in recent
years.
In June of
2019, The Daily Beast reported how The New York Times Trump tax team imploded
when four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner David Barstow went rogue, aggressively
pursuing a source of their groundbreaking investigation to ghostwrite a book
and secure a six-figure payday—a move explicitly forbidden by the Times’ ethics
rules.
That story
detailed how Barstow went behind his colleagues’ backs and pursued the
source—who was not his source to begin with—even after his editors told him not
to do the book.
Barstow
even went so far as to make a surprise visit to the source’s residence after
they ceased communications with him, staying at least three hours, and ringing
the front and back doorbells multiple times as the person hid in their home.
“The source
was freaked out. The source felt invaded. They ended up hiding until he left
the residence,” a person with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Beast
at the time, adding that the source considered calling the police.
While Times
Executive Editor Dean Baquet backed Barstow over his questionable ethical
decisions and Barstow claimed he acted appropriately, he soon left the paper to
take up a position leading the University of California Berkeley Graduate
School of Journalism’s investigative reporting program.
At the time
of publication, The Daily Beast did not name the source and took extensive
measures to protect their identity. In the upcoming book, however, Mary Trump
will out herself as a source for the Times and detail her involvement working
with journalists Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig, and Barstow to crack the story,
according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The book is
sure to send shock waves through Washington and the Trump family just months
before the election and it comes hot on the heels of John Bolton’s
much-anticipated memoir. But unlike all the books by former Trump staffers,
this is the first time a Trump family member has written a tell-all that is
highly critical of the president.
The bad
blood between President Trump and his niece dates back 20 years to the fight
over Fred Trump Sr.’s will and the actions he took to cut off financial and
medical support for her brother’s ill child. Now that feud is about to spill
out into the public eye during a critical election year, with the president
struggling to shore up his plummeting popularity.
“My aunt
and uncles should be ashamed of themselves,” Mary Trump said about Donald Trump
and his siblings in that rare 2000 interview, which provides a preview of the
tone of her book. “I'm sure they are not.”
Lachlan
Cartwright
Senior
Reporter
@LachCartwright
lachlan.cartwright@thedailybeast.com
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