Trump and Republicans ‘don’t seem to care’ about constitution, says former president’s nephew

One of Donald Trump’s nephews has described his uncle as “atomic crazy” in a book about his family.

Fred C Trump III also says the former president used racial slurs and told him disabled people, like his son, should be left to die.

He’s the son of Donald Trump’s older brother Fred Trump Jr, who died in 1981 and the brother of Mary Trump. She wrote her own memoir, which said Donald Trump and his siblings effectively disinherited her and her brother.

The Trump campaign has previously responded to the memoir, saying in a statement that stories of Trump using racist language are “completely fabricated”, adding: “It is appalling a lie so blatantly disgusting can be printed in media. Anyone who knows President Trump knows he would never use such language, and false stories like this have been thoroughly debunked”.

We spoke to Fred Trump and began by asking him what role President Trump played in his life.

Fred Trump: There are anecdotes in the book, I remember very clearly sitting on his lap watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. He’s the first person that put a golf club in my hand, and we share a passion for golf. When my father passed away, Donald was named my trustee.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: What did that mean?

Fred Trump: I take it to mean that he is there to protect me and my family.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And what it did was give him control over your finances.

Fred Trump: My son William, again, was born a day after my grandfather was buried. He spent the first seven weeks of his life, William did, in neonatal intensive care units in three different hospitals. When William finally came home after seven weeks in neonatal intensive care units, I received the letter from Donald’s attorney basically saying you were taken out of your grandfather’s will, and that’s that. I subsequently learned that it was Donald who hatched this scheme to remove Mary and me from our rightful inheritance.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Now, as you know, he’s in the news today because of the way he handled a panel session with some Black journalists yesterday. What do you think that tells us about his attitude towards race?

Fred Trump: I know he has to live up to his amped up base, but this one just didn’t make sense as a politician. It was, frankly, a no brainer. If I had, and I never would have said anything like that, I would have kind of gotten my hand and taken those words back. He doubles down. He cannot admit doing something wrong.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: You’ve talked about how you’ve heard him use racist language. Can you just tell me about that?

Fred Trump: I was at my grandparents’ house, as I often was during the summer, and I heard Donald screaming and he was pissed. And I went down to where he was in my grandparents’ driveway, and he just used the N-word twice, very loudly. And that was bad enough for me.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Do you think he’s a racist?

Fred Trump: I just think he espouses views that racist people could take.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: For his own political gain, you mean?

Fred Trump: Anybody lesser than him, or he deems lesser than him, you can call it racist or not. Or your viewers could. It’s just an attitude that I don’t believe in.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Yeah, there is some pretty shocking stuff in your book about his attitude towards William, and what he said to you.

Fred Trump: When Donald was inaugurated, three months later, I was back down in Washington and I brought a group down of very special advocates on behalf of people with complex disabilities. It culminated in a meeting in the White House Oval Office. Meeting ended, I was called back in by Donald, sat down, he greets me with this familiar, ‘Hey, pal, how’s it going?’ And about a minute into it, he says, ‘Those people. The expenses. Those people should just die.’ Shocking. There’s got to be a more powerful word than shocking, but that’s the only one I can come up with right now.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Donald Trump or his people have sort of denied the things that you’ve been saying in public recently. His son Eric tweeted on X that you’re cashing in, implying that you’ve taken money. What’s your response to that?

Fred Trump: My response, and I won’t respond personally to Eric, is I just ask your viewers to read the book or listen to it on audio. To understand the truths behind the stories that they’re denying.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Do you still depend on them at all for anything? For medical expenses for your son or anything like that?

Fred Trump: Well, the fund is slated to be depleted in a few months. Do I expect them to continue it? That’s up to them. I would like to hope so. Can we bury the hatchet on this? Again, this is truthful stuff, I’m not out there to do anything politically for him. I believe in policy over politics. It’s important to me, which is why I will be voting for and endorsing and campaigning for Kamala Harris. It’s nothing personal.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: What do you think would happen to America if Donald Trump wins?

Fred Trump: I think, freedoms in this country and the Constitution that we supposedly hold dear, I know I do and I know most everyone I [know] do, but the Republican Party and what it’s morphed into doesn’t seem to care about it anymore.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy: And what are your personal feelings towards him? He’s your uncle, too. Do you love him?

Fred Trump: Love is a word that was rarely used in the Trump family. I love my wife and I love my kids. I have affection for Donald, but it was not a warm and cosy family. As I’ve said, I don’t think I coined the phrase, but we put the fun in dysfunctional.