11 Reasons Not to Trust Mary Trump's Book

A new memoir by Donald Trump’s niece purports to dish salacious and unflattering details about the president’s childhood and family and business dealings — but Mary Trump’s book may be more payback than exposé.

The 55-year-old trained clinical psychologist and daughter of Trump’s eldest brother Fred has some good reasons to dislike her famed uncle, including her contempt for his conservative politics.

Here are 11 facts you may not know about the author of “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man”:

1. Mary Trump has a strong political point of view — and it’s not shared by her uncle: She is a registered Democrat, according to the New York State Board of Elections. A Twitter account registered under her name includes tweets supportive of Hillary Clinton, whom Trump trounced in the 2016 election. It also contains endorsements of "Black Lives Matter” and an emoji of the LGBTQ rainbow flag. 
2. She was not happy Donald Trump was elected: Invited to her uncle's election-night party in 2016, Mary Trump declined out of fear she "wouldn't be able to contain my euphoria when Clinton's victory was announced.” When Donald Trump won she tweeted: “This is one of the worst nights of my life. What is wrong with this country? I fear the American experiment has failed.’’  Mary also said: “Hillary Clinton is an extraordinary human being and public servant. That she lost to this is unspeakable.’’
3. Her own brother says the Trump family did not take her wealth: Fred Trump III disputes his sister’s claim that they were cut out of their grandfather's will, which resulted in an ugly lawsuit that was amicably settled. In a statement to The Daily Mail, he said, “Mary and I had each received a generous financial settlement from the family.’’ Young Fred has good relations with his uncle Donald.
4. She broke her ironclad nondisclosure agreement: Under the terms of the financial settlement, according to Fred Trump III, he and Mary signed a nondisclosure agreement. “[We] were more than willing to agree to execute nondisclosure provisions, all of which had been approved and recommended by our attorneys and advisors at that time," he told The Daily Mail. "In my opinion, those provisions of the 2001 settlement agreement are still in effect and binding today and I have continued to honor them.’’ Trump’s brother Robert is currently suing Mary in New York State court over the violation.
5. Many claims in her book are hearsay and not from first-hand sources: For example, the book purports that while a high school Trump “enlisted a smart kid with a reputation for being a good test taker, to take his SATs for him’’ and “paid his buddy well.’’ She names his friend as Joe Shapiro, but Shapiro himself is not quoted. Online reports indicate Shapiro died in 1999 at the age of 52.
6. Mary violated a basic rule of psychotherapy: Mary, who has a doctorate in psychology and a trained psychologist, states that her uncle “meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, which in its most severe form is generally considered sociopathy, but can also refer to chronic criminality, arrogance, and disregard for others.’’ Despite the diagnosis, the president has never been her patient. By offering a diagnosis, she violated the “Goldwater Rule” which says that “psychologists should not offer a diagnosis in the media of a living public figure they have not examined.”
6. She appeared on national television to poke fun at her own book: On Tuesday, Mary Trump went on CBS-TV’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to unveil fake excerpts from her book, including “When  he told me to pull his finger, he farted and blamed Obama.” Another: "Every time he brought home a new aunt, he'd say, 'Don't get attached.’’’
8. Trashing Trump for the money? Last month, the president’s brother Robert Trump suggested Mary’s book was an attempt to make a quick buck off of the family name. He scolded her in The New York Times for allegedly attempting to “sensationalize and mischaracterize our family relationship … for her own financial gain.”
9. Rush to publish: National Review’s senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty suggests her book is rushing to publication because it’s shelf life may be limited: “The Washington Post notes that since Donald Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, Mary Trump ‘does not appear to have said anything publicly about him,’’’ Geraghty writes. “A cynic might conclude that Trump may be an ex-president on the afternoon of January 20, and so the opportunity to write a book like this — and the market for it — may dry up soon. If you’ve got the material for a tell-all book about this president, you might as well sell your books now.’’ Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo says that “until now,” Mary Trump “managed to maintain an exceedingly low profile’’ and until recently “was virtually un-Googleable.’’
9. Is Mary Trump Stumping for Joe Biden? That seems to be the suggestion of CNN Media Correspondent Brian Stelter who labels her tome as “essentially an anti-Trump campaign book.’’ Reviewing portions of it on CNN, he said: “Joe Biden couldn’t have written a more effective book against the president of the United States.”
11. Dead Men (and Women) Tell No Tales: The book quotes or paraphrases many people who no longer are able to speak for themselves. Mary Trump's father, Fred Trump Jr., died in 1981, and her grandparents, Fred Trump Sr. and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, died in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

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