With an election looming and a crushingly mishandled pandemic continuing to bear down on the American people, it probably wouldn’t shock anyone to hear President Donald Trump called a con man, a liar, or a narcissist with loose morals by those who oppose him. But you’ve really got to hand it to the guy, because apparently he’s done such a good job of convincing people that he’s all of those things that his most recent and vocal critic is his own sister.
In audio recordings obtained by the Washington Post over the weekend, Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, can be heard eviscerating her younger brother as a serial liar who posts on Twitter too goddamn much.
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“And his goddamned tweet and the lying, oh my God,” Maryanne Trump says in one recording. “I’m talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the — holy shit.” Barry also says "you can't trust him," among a number of scathing opinions she voices about the current president.
"Donald is out for Donald, period," Barry says in another exchange. "All he wants to do is appeal to his base. He has no principles. None. None."
The recordings were reportedly captured between 2018 and 2019 by Mary Trump, the president’s niece, and released ahead of the debut of her forthcoming tell-all book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created The World’s Most Dangerous Man.
But this isn't the first time that Trump's sister has reportedly spoken out against him. In another previously reported on recording, Barry allegedly discussed the “blatant racism” of the president’s immigration policy, lamenting “what they’re doing with the kids at the border.”
“It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty,” Barry adds. “Donald is cruel."
Since reports have circulated of turmoil within the first family, Trump's team has gone into overdrive to denounce Mary Trump's book altogether. During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows downplayed the significance of the tapes and said that they amounted to "another day, another political attack,” for the president.
“What I find interesting is any family member that would secretly tape 15 hours of a conversation with somebody obviously to promote an agenda — she's been very vocal in her support for Joe Biden," Meadows said.
In an official statement released by the White House, Trump himself responded to the tapes by invoking the recent death of his brother, Robert. "Every day it's something else, who cares,” Trump said. “I miss my brother, and I'll continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious. Our country will soon be stronger than ever before."
Regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election, our condolences to Maryanne Trump, who will have to remain related to Donald either way.