Mary L. Trump Explained

Mary L. Trump
Birth Name:Mary Lea Trump
Birth Date:3 May 1965
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Education:Tufts University (BA)
Columbia University (MA)
Adelphi University (PhD)
Occupation:Psychologist, podcaster, writer
Parents:Fred Trump Jr.
Linda Clapp
Children:1
Relatives:Trump family
Party:Democratic

Mary Lea Trump (born May 3, 1965)[1] is an American psychologist and writer. A niece of former US president Donald Trump, she has been critical of him. Her 2020 book about him and the family, Too Much and Never Enough, sold nearly one million copies on the day of its release. A second book, The Reckoning, followed in 2021.

In September 2020, Mary Trump sued her uncle Donald, aunt Maryanne, and the estate of her late uncle Robert, claiming that they defrauded her of tens of millions of dollars from her interests in her grandfather Fred Trump's real-estate portfolio. In November 2022, the lawsuit was dismissed. In September 2021, Donald Trump sued Mary for at least $100 million for providing The New York Times with financial documents which it used as a source for a 2018 exposé about his wealth and the family's finances.

Early life and education

Mary Trump was born in May 1965 to flight attendant Linda Lea Clapp and Fred Trump Jr., a commercial airline pilot of Trans World Airlines and son of real-estate developer Fred Trump (Donald Trump's father). Her older brother is Fred Trump III.[2] [3] When she was 16, her father died at 42 of a heart attack caused by alcoholism.[4]

Mary Trump graduated from the Ethel Walker School in 1983. She studied English literature at Tufts University, earned a master's degree in English literature at Columbia University, for which she studied the works of William Faulkner and his dysfunctional fictional Compson family,[5] [6] [7] and holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies[8] at Adelphi University.[9] [10]

Will of Fred Trump Sr.

See also: New York investigations of The Trump Organization.

Fred Trump Sr.'s will left the bulk of his estate, in equal shares, to his surviving children,[11] while each of his grandchildren was left $200,000.[12] In 1981, when Mary's father predeceased him, Fred Sr.'s lawyers had recommended amending his will, to leave Fred Trump Jr.'s children larger shares than the grandchildren with living parents, writing that "Given the size of your estate, this is tantamount to disinheriting them. You may wish to increase their participation in your estate to avoid ill will in the future." However, Fred Trump Sr. refused to do so.

Fred Sr. was diagnosed with "mild senile dementia" in 1991[13] and about two years later began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease.[14] Donald Trump, at the time facing financial ruin, sought control of his elderly father's estate, leading to a family fight which The Washington Post described as "epic".[13] When Fred Trump Sr. died in 1999, Mary Trump and her brother, Fred Trump III, contested their grandfather's will.[15] [16]

Shortly after Fred Sr.'s death, Fred III's wife gave birth to a son named William, who has epileptic spasms, a rare and debilitating medical condition requiring a lifetime of care. Fred Sr. had established a foundation that paid the medical expenses of his family. Mary Trump and her brother filed suit against Donald Trump and two of his three living siblings, Maryanne Trump Barry and Robert Trump, for exerting undue influence on the elderly Fred Sr.'s will.[17] In response, Donald, Maryanne and Robert cut off Mary and Fred III's medical insurance, including coverage for William. The lawsuit was settled in 2001, with Mary and Fred III selling their interests in the family business (which included ground leases for two of Fred Sr.'s major properties).

In 2018, Mary Trump provided financial records, including some Trump family tax returns, to The New York Times for its exposé on Fred and Donald Trump's finances, which alleges that Fred and the siblings of Fred Jr.especially Donald"participated in dubious tax schemes ... including instances of outright fraud", effectively avoiding over $500 million in gift taxes.

In September 2020, Mary Trump sued her uncle Donald, aunt Maryanne, and the estate of her late uncle Robert, claiming that they defrauded her of tens of millions of dollars from her interests in Fred Sr.'s real-estate portfolio by undervaluing her interests and coercing her to sign a settlement.[18] [19] The defendants' lawyers asked for dismissal of the lawsuit, claiming that she had waited too long to file suit.[20] Trump's lawyers responded that diligence would not have uncovered the fraud" more than a decade earlier.[21] In a January 2022 hearing, lawyers for Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry, and the estate of Robert Trump asked for Mary Trump's lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing that she had waited too long to file her lawsuit because she had had access to the relevant documents since 2001 and that a statute of limitations imposed by the 2001 settlement had expired.[22] [23] In November 2022, the lawsuit was dismissed on the basis that Trump's 2001 settlement agreement had "unambiguously released defendants from unknown claims, including fraud claims".[24] She made an appeal request, which was denied on June 22, 2023.[25]

In September 2021, Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against his niece and The New York Times (namely the authors of the 2018 exposé)[26] for over $100 million.[27] The suit accuses Mary Trump and the three New York Times journalists of utilizing confidential documents in an "insidious" conspiracy against Donald. Mary called the suit an act of "desperation".[28] [29] In a January 2023 hearing, a lawyer for the Times argued that the truthfulness of the exposé outweighed other considerations. Donald's lawyer Alina Habba singled out Mary's use of a burner phone to communicate with the Times, the counsel for which argued was merely to protect its source. On May 3, 2023, a New York Supreme Court justice dismissed the Times from the suit and ordered Donald to pay its legal fees (which neared $400,000) on the basis that his assertions lacked constitutional merit and that, owing to the First Amendment, "reporters are entitled to engage in legal and ordinary news gathering activities without fear of tort liability".[30] [31] A ruling the next month allowed Donald to pursue his claim against Mary. She requested a stay of proceedings during her appeal attempt, but this was denied on January 12, 2024.

Career

Mary Trump worked for one year at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center while working on her PhD research. She is a contributor to the book Diagnosis: Schizophrenia, published by Columbia University Press in 2001.[32] She has taught graduate courses in developmental psychology, trauma, and psychopathology. She is the founder and chief executive officer of The Trump Coaching Group, a life-coaching company, and has also owned and operated a number of small businesses in the Northeast.[33]

Too Much and Never Enough

See main article: Too Much and Never Enough.

Mary Trump's first book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, is an unauthorized biography of Donald Trump published on July 14, 2020, by Simon & Schuster. According to Mary Trump's note at the beginning of the book, all accounts in the book come either from her own memory or from recorded conversations with family, friends, and others. Other sources are legal, financial and family documents, email correspondence, and the New York Times investigative article by David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner. The book details how Mary Trump was the anonymous source who provided The New York Times with Trump family tax returns. The New York Times report won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize.[34]

Upon the announcement of Too Much and Never Enough in June 2020, her uncle Robert Trump attempted to block its release, stating that she signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of the 2001 lawsuit settlement.[35] The filing of a temporary restraining order against Mary Trump was dismissed by a New York court for a lack of jurisdiction, and the book was published on July 14, 2020.[36] [37]

The book sold close to one million copies on its first day of sales.[38]

The Reckoning

See main article: The Reckoning (Trump book). Trump's second book, The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal, was published by St. Martin's Press on August 17, 2021.[39] Drawing from American history, Trump posits that the country has suffered trauma from its inception because of its inclusion of systemic racism and its failure to address the existence of white supremacy, especially by Republicans in recent decades.[40]

The Mary Trump Show

Trump has a podcast, titled The Mary Trump Show, on which she discusses politics and other matters. On February 1, 2022, she announced that she would be removing her show from Spotify to protest alleged COVID-19 misinformation being spread on The Joe Rogan Experience,[41] which was exclusively distributed on Spotify.

Politics

Mary Trump supported Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

In 2018, David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner of The New York Times published "an exhaustive 18-month investigation of Donald Trump's finances that debunked his statements of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges", for which they were awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting.[42] [43] Trump has stated that she was a key source of information for that study, having come into possession of Donald Trump's tax documents during the discovery process in the dispute over her grandfather's estate.

On July 15, 2020, Mary Trump said in an ABC News interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos that Donald Trump should resign as president, as he was "utterly incapable of leading this country, and it's dangerous to allow him to do so".[44] In an interview later that month on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Mary Trump stated that Donald Trump exhibited sociopathic tendencies but not at a high-functioning level like his father. She said the president was institutionally insulated from responsibilities throughout his childhood and was never held accountable for his actions.[45]

After the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, Mary Trump said her uncle should be "barred from ever running for public office again."[46]

Personal life

Mary Trump is openly gay. In Too Much and Never Enough, she makes a brief reference to the fact and states that "Nobody in the family knew; they'd always been spectacularly uninterested in my personal life ... and never asked about my boyfriends or relationships." She wrote that her grandmother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, once referred to Elton John as a "faggot",[47] and consequently, Mary Trump decided not to come out and tell her grandmother or other immediate family that she was going to marry a woman, with whom she would later raise a daughter.[48] [49] She has since divorced, and lives on Long Island, New York, with her 21-year-old daughter, who was conceived by in-vitro fertilization via a sperm donor.[50]

External links

Notes and References

  1. What to Know About Donald Trump's Niece Mary, Who Fought Him in Court & Is Writing a Tell-All . June 15, 2020 . . . United States . Adam . Carlson. July 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200704013654/https://people.com/politics/what-to-know-about-donald-trump-niece-mary-trump/. July 4, 2020. live.
  2. News: Kranish. Michael. August 8, 2019. Trump pressured his alcoholic brother about his career. Now he has regrets.. The Seattle Times. Seattle. July 20, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808192602/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-pressured-his-alcoholic-brother-about-his-career-now-he-has-regrets/. August 8, 2019.
  3. News: Kranish. Michael. July 2, 2020. Mary Trump once stood up to her uncle Donald. Now her book describes a 'nightmare' of family dysfunction.. The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Washington, D.C.. live. July 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200704023206/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mary-trump-once-stood-up-to-her-uncle-donald-now-her-book-describes-a-nightmare-of-family-dysfunction/2020/06/25/be52d7f2-b4ba-11ea-9b0f-c797548c1154_story.html. July 4, 2020.
  4. Who's Mary Trump? Here's Everything We Know About The President's Niece. . Jemima . McEvoy . . . United States . June 15, 2020 . July 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615210832/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/15/whos-mary-trump-heres-everything-we-know-about-the-presidents-niece/#4a3ffa8a5d30. June 15, 2020.
  5. News: D'Antonio . Michael . June 17, 2020 . The psychologist in the Trump family speaks . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702191715/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/opinions/mary-trump-book-opinion-dantonio/index.html. July 2, 2020 . . Atlanta. July 15, 2020.
  6. A characterological evaluation of the victims of stalking . Trump . Mary . . Garden City, New York . 2009 . en.
  7. Book: Trump, Mary . Simon and Schuster . About the Book 'Too Much and Never Enough' . July 14, 2020 . 9781982141462 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703211027/https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Too-Much-and-Never-Enough/Mary-L-Trump/9781982141462. July 3, 2020.
  8. Book: Trump, Mary. Too Much and Never Enough. Simon & Schuster. 2020. 978-19821-4146-2. New York.
  9. News: The Inside Story of Why Mary Trump Wrote a Tell-All Memoir . Alan . Feuer . Michael . Rothfeld . Maggie . Haberman . . New York . July 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200708003458/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/nyregion/mary-trump-book.html. July 8, 2020.
  10. News: Mary Trump says uncle Donald may have 'undiagnosed learning disability' in new book . Lynn . Sweet . . Sun-Times Investment Holdings . Chicago . July 7, 2020 . July 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200707184751/https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/7/7/21316205/mary-trump-book-donald-too-much-never-enough. July 7, 2020.
  11. News: Pengelly. Martin. June 14, 2020. Donald Trump's behavior was shaped by his 'sociopath' father, niece writes in bombshell book. The Guardian. London. live. June 16, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200707165418/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/07/donald-trump-abuse-father-niece-mary-book. July 7, 2020.
  12. Web site: Collman. Ashley. June 15, 2020. Trump's niece is publishing a tell-all book that says she leaked tax documents to help The New York Times investigate the president's finances. July 22, 2020. Business Insider.
  13. News: Kranish. Michael. 2020-09-27. Donald Trump, facing financial ruin, sought control of his elderly father's estate. The family fight was epic.. 2020-09-28. The Washington Post. en.
  14. News: Rozhon. Tracie. 1999-06-26. Fred C. Trump, Postwar Master Builder of Housing for Middle Class, Dies at 93. The New York Times. July 25, 2021.
  15. News: Evans. Heidi. December 19, 2000. Inside Trumps' bitter battle nephew's ailing baby caught in the middle. Daily News. Tribune Publishing. New York. live. July 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703091453/https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/trumps-bitter-battle-nephew-ailing-baby-caught-middle-article-1.888562. July 3, 2020. Both lawsuits were filed by Fred Trump III and Mary Trump, the children of Donald's late brother, Fred Jr. They offer a rare window into one of New York's most prominent families, a world where alliances and rivalries are magnified by power, money and the tough-nosed tactics of Donald Trump. "When [Fred 3rd] sued us, we said, 'Why should we give him medical coverage?'".
  16. News: Mangan . Dan . June 26, 2020 . Trump brother files new lawsuit seeking to block niece Mary Trump's tell-all book about family . July 3, 2020 . . Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702102509/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/mary-trump-book-presidents-brother-files-suit-seeking-to-block-publication.html. July 2, 2020. live.
  17. News: Feuer . Alan . Haberman . Maggie . July 3, 2020 . Trump's Niece Presses Case Against Effort to Bar Publication of Her Book . en-US . . New York . July 15, 2020 . 0362-4331. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703171024/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/us/politics/mary-trump-book-publication.html. July 3, 2020.
  18. News: Feuer . Alan . Mary Trump Sues President and Family, Claiming Fraud of Millions . . September 24, 2020 . May 21, 2021.
  19. Web site: Orden . Erica . September 24, 2020 . Mary Trump sues President and his siblings for fraud, calling it the family 'way of life' . November 16, 2022 . CNN.
  20. News: Stempel . Jonathan . Trump blasts niece's 'conspiracy theories' as he seeks fraud lawsuit's dismissal . . January 5, 2021 . May 21, 2021.
  21. News: Stempel . Jonathan . Trump's niece blasts his 'chutzpah' towards her inheritance lawsuit . . February 27, 2021 . May 21, 2021.
  22. News: Stempel. Jonathan. 2022-01-11. Trump's niece seeks to cash in with fraud lawsuit, ex-president's lawyer argues. en. Reuters. 2022-01-15.
  23. Web site: Katersky. Aaron. January 11, 2022. Trump, his sister and estate of his late brother ask judge to dismiss lawsuit by Mary Trump. 2022-02-12. ABC News. en.
  24. Web site: Sarnoff . Marisa . 2022-11-15 . Judge Dismisses Fraud Lawsuit by Donald Trump's Niece Over Inheritance: Settlement 'Clearly and Unambiguously' Released Ex-President . 2022-11-16 . Law & Crime . en.
  25. Web site: Rubin . Olivia . Katersky . Aaron . June 22, 2023 . Trump's niece, Mary Trump, loses effort to revive lawsuit against him . 2023-06-23 . ABC News . en.
  26. Web site: Pullano . Nina . January 19, 2023 . Trump v Trump: Ex-president and niece square off in court . 2023-01-20 . . en-US.
  27. News: Ang. Katerina. September 22, 2021. Trump sues New York Times and niece Mary Trump over tax records story. The Washington Post. September 22, 2021.
  28. News: September 22, 2021. Trump sues niece and New York Times over tax story. BBC News. September 22, 2021.
  29. News: Tani. Maxwell. Siegel. Harry. 2021-09-22. Trump Sues NYT and Niece—Who Calls Him 'F*cking Loser'. en. The Daily Beast. 2021-09-27.
  30. Web site: Falconer . Rebecca . Fischer . Sara . May 3, 2023 . Judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against New York Times . May 4, 2023 . Axios.
  31. Web site: Srivastava . Varnika . January 13, 2024 . Donald Trump to pay New York Times $400,000 in legal charges, know why . 2024-01-13 . . en.
  32. Book: Miller, Rachel. Diagnosis Schizophrenia : A comprehensive resource for patients, families, and helping professionals. Columbia University Press. Mason, Susan Elizabeth. 2001. 978-0231150408. 2nd. New York. 51615777.
  33. News: Collman. Ashley. July 4, 2020. Meet Mary Trump, the president's niece who is a life coach, apparent Hillary Clinton fan, and has written a scathing tell-all about her uncle. en. Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Germany. July 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200619170931/https://www.businessinsider.com/mary-trump-donald-trump-niece-publishing-tell-all-2020-6. June 19, 2020.
  34. News: Klein. Charlotte. June 15, 2020. Trump's niece leaked his tax secrets to The New York Times; report. Vanity Fair. United States. July 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200627062153/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/trumps-niece-leaked-his-tax-secrets-to-the-new-york-times-report. June 27, 2020.
  35. News: Haberman. Maggie. Feuer. Alan. June 25, 2020. Trump Family Will Ask Second Court to Stop Publication of Tell-All Book. The New York Times. New York. July 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200625222009/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/us/politics/lawsuit-mary-trump-book.html. June 25, 2020.
  36. Web site: Darcy. Oliver. June 26, 2020. Court dismisses motion by Trump's brother to block tell-all book by President's niece. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200701181132/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/25/media/mary-trump-book-court/index.html. July 1, 2020. July 3, 2020. CNN. Atlanta.
  37. News: Haberman. Maggie. Feuer. Alan. July 1, 2020. Tell-All Book on Trump Can Move Forward Pending Hearing, Judge Rules. en-US. The New York Times. New York. live. July 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703002825/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/us/politics/mary-trump-book-lawsuit.html. July 3, 2020. 0362-4331.
  38. News: Darcy. Oliver. July 16, 2020. Mary Trump's book breaks record with mammoth sales. CNN. Atlanta. live. July 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200718080728/https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/media/mary-trump-book-sales/. July 18, 2020.
  39. Book: The Reckoning. St. Martin's Press. 2021. New York. en.
  40. Web site: VanDenburgh. Barbara. 2021-08-17. Mary Trump's 'Reckoning: The PTSD survivor has some advice for a traumatized nation. 2021-08-21. USA Today. en-US.
  41. Web site: Breslin. Maureen. 2022-02-02. Mary Trump pulling podcast from Spotify. 2022-02-03. The Hill. en.
  42. News: Barstow . David . Craig . Susanne . Buettner . Russ. David Barstow. Susanne Craig . October 2, 2018 . Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father . en-US . . New York . July 3, 2020 . 0362-4331. https://web.archive.org/web/20181002191642/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-tax-schemes-fred-trump.html. October 2, 2018.
  43. Web site: 2019 Pulitzer Prizes . The Pulitzer Prizes . 17 August 2021.
  44. News: Mary Trump has a message for the president: 'Resign'. Rebecca. Shabad. NBC News. New York. July 15, 2020. July 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200715125102/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mary-trump-has-message-president-resign-n1233865. July 15, 2020.
  45. Mary Trump, Kristen Bell. List of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert episodes (2020). The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. CBS. July 22, 2020. 5. 950.
  46. News: President Trump's niece, Mary Trump, says he should be "barred from ever running for public office again" . January 11, 2021 . cbsnews.com . CBS News.
  47. Too Much and Never Enough, chapter 10
  48. Trump Niece's Tell-All Describes a Family of Liars, Cheats & Abusers Who Destroyed Her Dad . July 14, 2020 . . . United States . EN . Adam . Carlson. https://web.archive.org/web/20200708133314/https://people.com/politics/mary-trump-tell-all-describes-trump-family-father-death/. July 8, 2020.
  49. Web site: Reddish . David . July 17, 2020 . Trump's gay niece says her family's homophobia forced her to stay in the closet . . Q Digital . United States. July 19, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200718134257/https://www.queerty.com/trumps-gay-niece-says-familys-homophobia-forced-stay-closet-20200717 . July 18, 2020.
  50. News: Family business: Trump fears latest damning memoir – this time by his liberal niece . . London . David . Smith . June 21, 2020 . July 20, 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200621100251/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/21/donald-trump-mary-lea-trump-book-memoir. June 21, 2020.

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