Over the summer, Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump published her tell-all book about her uncle and their screwed up family. Mary is a psychologist and she had some good analysis of the cycles of abuse and damage within the Trump family. There was something about the whole Mary Trump moment which left me cold, though – like, I’ll buy that she hates her uncle and I believe that she got screwed out of some of the inheritance and all of that. But I just don’t trust anyone with the Trump name, and Mary came across – at times – like just another grifter, and like her tell-all was just another Trump con. She probably wouldn’t have even written the book if her family hadn’t cut her off. Anyway, Vanity Fair still believes Mary Trump is worth speaking to, so they gave her space to talk about her predictions for the Trump clan’s post-presidency, and a lot of other stuff. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
What she did when Joe Biden won: Mary grabbed a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and hit the beach, where she drained her Champagne glass while basking in the near-75-degree mid-autumn sunshine. “I just felt this energy that I haven’t felt in a while. The sense of relief I felt was just so incredible.”
She’s writing a new book: Now Mary plans to apply her clinical training to another literary pursuit, one that will continue grappling with her uncle’s dramatic and, very likely, long-lasting impact on American politics and society. Announced Tuesday by Macmillan’s St. Martin’s Press, and scheduled to hit shelves on July 20, The Reckoning “will examine,” according to the promotional copy, “America’s national trauma, rooted in our history but dramatically exacerbated by the impact of current events and the Trump administration’s corrupt and immoral policies…. Whether it manifests itself in rising levels of rage and hatred, or hopelessness and apathy, the stress of living in a country we no longer recognize has affected all of us. America is suffering from PTSD.”
Whether she thought Trump would lose the election: “I did. I also felt very strongly that a landslide victory was necessary, and we didn’t get that. Thank goodness Joe Biden won as decisively as he did, but we really needed a repudiation of not just Donald, but the entire party that enabled him. Seventy-three million votes is insane. I don’t understand how he got more than 20 million, but here we are.
How will Trump’s presidency end: “I mean, he’s already checked out. Two thousand people are dying every day, and he’s playing golf. I think he’s much more focused on what he can get in the next 50 days, what kinds of deals he can make. So far the likeliest scenario I’ve heard is that he’s gonna counterprogram the inauguration, maybe with a rally announcing his 2024 candidacy, which is a complete joke, or something like that.
What happens to the Trump clan in the Biden era: “First of all, as soon as Biden is inaugurated, Donald loses a huge amount of relevance, and therefore so do his children. I don’t think they quite understand how badly damaged that brand is. Also, and this is what gives me some hope, Donald isn’t just looking at lawsuits from me and E. Jean Carroll and other people. He’s also looking at serious exposure from banking institutions, which no longer have to protect him. And then of course there’s the legal exposure. He is, and his children are, looking at potentially very serious charges—tax fraud, money laundering, and what have you. I think the New York attorney general and Manhattan district attorney were very serious about pursuing these things all along, but I think Donald made the urgency of holding him accountable even greater just by his egregious behavior over the past several weeks. They’re gonna have their hands full.
What worries her: “It’s not so much what they can do. I’m more worried about what happens if he’s not held accountable, if they’re not held accountable. I think that would be as damaging to this country as Mitch McConnell staying majority leader in the long term, because then it’s just gonna happen again—there will be a savvier politician parading as a populist who has the same autocratic tendencies, but he’s just better at it. And next time we won’t be so lucky.
The part about Trump’s “damaged brand” is interesting – I mean, clearly, I believe he’s brand is damaged too, but I also think that the lower he goes, the trashier his vibe, the more he actually appeals to those dumbf–k MAGA people. And that’s what has always driven Trump crazy – the fact that he sought recognition and respect from the elites and they’re still scoffing at him, all while a cult of dumbasses embraces him fully. So he’s going to keep trying to weaponize those dumbasses to “take down” the elites. And what Mary Trump says about consequences for all of this is important too – there absolutely should be accountability. Criminal charges and more.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I think a lot of his followers are in the “sunk cost fallacy” in that they are holding on to him tightly because they don’t want to admit they were wrong. I wonder when and if the tides will ever turn for his sycophants, or if they will defend him to their deaths rather than admit they were scammed.
I agree that these people will not admit they were wrong in an attempt to keep their sick, overfed egos intact. Hopefully they quiet down & slink to their fate in the dustbin of history.
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled” -Mark Twain
It’s been fascinating to watch the trump houses in the suburbs the last couple months. Many of these were ALL IN on the flags, yard signs, truck (because it’s ALWAYS a truck) flags/stickers, the works.
Now that he’s lost, the stuff has slowly started coming down. Certainly not everything, because then they’d have to admit they were wrong, but it looks absurd to have a whole yard full of signs supporting a loser. It’s usually just a single, faded, limp flag.
@mm2, Trump tweeted this exact quote last night! Oh the irony!
My friend’s mom remains a rabid supporter and COVID trivializer, even as two of her close relatives died of it within a week. This shit is pathological.
You’d think with normal circumstances but with people like actively dying in the hundreds of thousands from the pandemic related to him, it’s beyond a normal fallacy to a pathology. This is a death cult and they’re in it until death. Even while that’s a real threat with the virus.
Her comments about needing Trump and all the republicans who facilitated him to be held accountable is spot on. If we don’t, and I mean this as everyone worldwide, then it gives the green light to all to all those despots lurking in the shadows.
I agree, Rae, 100%. I think she’s trying to do a valuable service to the whole country, as an early victim of that family. Their political ambitions don’t come from a place of wanting to serve the country or anything altruistic whatsoever. They are far too selfish, crooked and ambitious for that. Even Ivanka’s friend – and Ivanka is usually regarded as the nice one in the family – said Ivanka got very annoyed with her for recommending a book “about poor people” to her.
His base is stronger than ever. These people have been given a reason to embrace their hideousness. The lower the bar, the happier they are. Don’t think for one hot second that redemption is on the table. He has, for all intents and purposes, ‘broken the wheel.’ He’s their next televangelist spreading fantasies and conspiracies, and they’ll continue throwing money his way. This is who half of America is. Uneducated masses of self-righteous racists, liars, hate mongers and criminals hellbent on crippling the nation in an effort to roll back time.
ITA, this is who half of America is. I just keep thinking about leaders who tap into something in the people and “catch fire” as a result. Trump didn’t know what he was tapping into with his racist, hate monger propaganda – he’s not that smart – but Americans were ready to hear and champion his disgusting world view.
I read it as “their brain is badly damaged”. Wouldn’t be wrong though.
Yep, he haaaaates that the only people who love him are the very people he loathes as poor white trash.
He can get an invite to all the huntin’ parties and derby truck rallies he wants, but he’ll never get to go to the Emmy’s ever again.
Trump is not going away, in my opinion. He is thriving on all the chaos and turmoil he stirs up. Read Trump’s book, “Art of the Deal.” He laid out his personal manifesto in that book years ago and he 100% operates just as he stated then:
* create chaos and misinformation
* always see others as the enemy
* even when the truth is not harmful to the deal, lie 100% of the time, so your opponent will never know what is the truth
* tie everything up in lawsuits
* be a bully. Always come to the table with the biggest stick in the room
*. Do everything you can to intimidate your opponent, even when it is not relevant to the deal as this weakens them even further
* investigate and get the dirt on your opponent — even when not needed — and let them know you have it and aren’t afraid to use it
Each year he gets worse. Now, I think his narcissistic megalomania is full blown. He is going to continue to solicit money any way he can, he is going to find a way to make sure he is heard, and he is going to continue to weaponize and serve as a focal point for all the crazy hatred and extreme opinions in this country. He is NOT Hitler, but if you look at how Hitler created his party and consolidated his power, Trump is I powered by the fear he creates and the amount of money he controls. Look at the Republicans currently in office: only 3 in Congress and 8 national office holders are willing to state publicly that Biden won. I think the majority of them are silent and thus empowering him, because they know Trump is crazy and will go there in attacking them and campaigning against them, and allowing violence to be incited against them and their families. A prime example is his behavior towards those in Georgia. I think we should be worried and that he DEFINITELY needs to be legally held accountable for his criminal acts while President. If not, it’s another “win” for The Donald and I ate permission to keep growing his immoral and illegal actions.
@lowcountry lady, I agree with you that he isn’t going away soon. That said, I do think he is facing some health issues that may diminish his ability to maintain this facade much longer. Once he is out of office, I can see the stress of looming prosecution, loans coming due, etc, impacting his already diminished capacity.
I am hoping that all the legal hassles waiting for him and his offspring will resemble something akin to a financial ‘death of a thousand cuts’.
It IS very funny to me that the only people attracted to anything about Trump’s brand at this point are his working class supporters who can’t afford to join his oh-so-fancy clubs or stay in his tacky, poor-man’s-idea-of-luxury hotels. People whom he openly disdains. People he probably wouldn’t want entering through the front doors of Trump Tower. It’s like he wished for political relevance on a monkey’s paw.
I’m sorry but I have to tell you that we know a number of very successful, highly educated (think advanced degrees) people who are Trump supporters. It boggles my mind. Not all of them are buying Into the maskless, mega spreader rallies ect Covid 19 schtick but they are still supporting him and his policies and questioning the election. I literally cannot figure it out.
Everything is not going to be magically all right or back to pre-2016 normal just because Joe Biden is inaugurated. We have to stay vigilant.
I do too. In fact, one branch of my family is full of well-off DOCTORS who continue to support him. They’ve always been conservative so I guess I get why they initially preferred him to HRC, but how they could vote for him in 2020 is just beyond me. Even if they are closet racists who like their tax breaks, they believe in COVID and see the wreckage of this mismanaged pandemic, FFS. It’s unfathomable.
That last comment about ‘next time we won’t be so lucky’ is my worst nightmare of enduring all this. And I’m surprised it doesn’t come up more, how we were inches away from losing any semblance of our democratic system, but there are enemies out there looking at the outline Trump gave them and coming up with improvements. We can’t get complacent, ever.
He will continue to feed the ravenous maw of Trump-Humpers long after Biden takes over. He’s building his war chest and even if he faces jail time he’ll do it as a martyr to his worshipful base. There are lots of like-minded others who can and will fill his shoes.
Okay, tin foil hat theory: as soon as Biden is in, something explosive will come out about Trump. Like, nuclear explosive.
Since Biden won, the media has been changing its tone on Trump, and going in on him. They’re just waiting till he’s out of office to finish him.
With all the people leaking and taping, I’ve always felt it was impossible that there wasn’t something ultra damaging on Trump. I think there is, and the media is getting ready to use it… notice Murdoch reportedly got mad at Donny Boy, and even Charles Koch has been voicing regret for his support of Trump. I think they know what is coming. There’s also been powerful business groups indicating that Trump’s refusal to concede hurts the economy.
The richies (who control the media) are feeling the hurt this year, and Trump’s administration has only made things worse. When you affect their bottom line, these people are ruthless.
The media made Trump because the richies behind it wanted him in power for gain , and I really think the media will destroy him… completely…once he’s gone and the richies behind the media can get no more put of him. They’re just waiting till Biden’s in charge.
Not to mention, the GOP will want him destroyed to keep him from creating his own party and splitting the conservative vote.
The richies and their media made money off Trump’s rise, and will make more off his demise.
Maybe, but what could be more explosive than what we already know? He’s a cheating, lying, malignantly narcissistic rapist, for starters. The “media” could uncover ironclad proof that he singlehandedly created and unleashed the novel coronavirus in a spooky lab under the Oval Office, using the blood of sacrificed evangelical virgins with guidance from Satan incarnate, and his base would either refuse to believe it or decide to admire his ingenuity.
He was buddies with Epstein, I think there is a lot there.
If she wrote just one book, I’d give her a pass. Or if the second book’s proceeds all go to a charity that she isn’t affiliated with. But, yeah, something feels off. My mother and father were psychologists and they had some important things to say, when it came to anything that affected them (like my behavior…??!!) they were pretty self-serving. I don’t think being a psychologist is the same as having a badge of honor.
I like her.
Me too. I read her book.
I thought the “oddness” of the book was due to the damage she has suffered – and continues to suffer – and how close (emotionally) she is to the subject. I don’t think it was insincere or a money grab – not in the slightest. I also like her, and have empathy for her.