Mary Trump issues blistering critique of president as narcissist in new book

Mary Trump paints a disturbing picture of her uncle, President Trump, in a forthcoming book that accuses him of “cruelty and incompetence” and a penchant for lying and cheating that dates back to when he was a young adult.

In her memoir, obtained by The Hill ahead of next week’s publication date, Mary Trump offers a jarring depiction of the Trump family, alleging that the president’s father, Fred Trump, was a “high-functioning sociopath” and that his treatment of his children created an “atmosphere of division” and encouraged what she describes as Donald Trump’s narcissistic, arrogant and grandiose behavior.

The book — “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” set for release by publisher Simon & Schuster on July 14 — is based on Mary Trump’s recollections as well as conversations and interviews she has had with family members, friends, neighbors and other associates, and documents and correspondence.

Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist, says she considered speaking out in 2016 about the ways in which she knew her uncle to be “completely unqualified” for the presidency. She writes that the events of the past three years of the Trump administration “have forced my hand, and I can no longer remain silent.”

“If he is afforded a second term, it would be the end of American democracy,” she writes.

The president’s niece alleges that he meets the criteria of being a narcissist and possibly other disorders, but says a full diagnosis is currently impossible.

“Donald’s pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he’ll never sit for,” she writes.

Mary Trump also alleges that Donald Trump, who at the time was attending Fordham University with his sights set on taking on a role second to his father at Trump Management, paid someone to take his SAT exam for him as he was applying to transfer to University of Pennsylvania. Trump, who often mentions that he attended the university’s Wharton business school, was admitted and transferred from Fordham in 1966.

The book also states that Trump’s eldest brother Fred Trump Jr., Mary Trump’s father who had a history of alcoholism, went to the hospital alone on the night that he died after suffering a heart attack and that no other members of the family joined him. Donald Trump and his elder sister Elizabeth went to the movies, Mary Trump writes.

In her description of his political career, Mary Trump says family members did not take her uncle seriously when he ran for the White House, saying she believed he just wanted the “free publicity for his brand” at the start of his 2016 campaign.

According to her account, the president’s sister, retired judge Maryanne Trump Barry, called him a “clown” in a conversation the two women had and expressed strong doubts he would be successful in winning the election. Mary Trump also accuses her uncle of “blatant racism” in his 2015 candidacy announcement speech and writes that she and Maryanne Trump Barry were baffled by the support he received from white evangelical voters. 

The White House rejected the book’s allegations on Tuesday, with press secretary Kayleigh McEnany characterizing the book as a work of “falsehoods.”

“It’s ridiculous, absurd allegations that have absolute no bearing in truth,” McEnany told reporters. “Have yet to see the book, but it is a book of falsehoods.”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway separately told reporters: “As for books generally, obviously they’re not fact checked, nobody’s under oath. I know there’s always this rush to slap credibility on whoever’s getting the president that day.”

And White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews in a separate statement to The Hill denied the allegation about the president cheating on his SATs and accused Mary Trump of acting in her own financial interest by publishing the book.  

“The President describes the relationship he had with his father as warm and said his father was very good to him. He said his father was loving and not at all hard on him as a child,” Matthews said. “Also, the absurd SAT allegation is completely false.”

Mary Trump’s book has garnered considerable attention as a result of a legal fight over its publication. The president’s brother, Robert Trump, has filed multiple suits to block the book’s release, alleging Mary Trump is violating a nondisclosure agreement signed by members of the family to settle litigation related to Fred Trump’s estate. Mary Trump’s lawyers have argued that blocking the book would violate her First Amendment rights and therefore be unconstitutional.

Last week, a judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order blocking the book’s publication but an appeals court later lifted the order, allowing Simon & Schuster to move forward. The company announced on Monday that it was moving up the release by two weeks to July 14.

Updated: 4:33 p.m.