Mary Trump blames Trump's 'sociopath' father for creating his 'dangerous presidency'


President Trump's niece has some harsh criticism of his erratic and "dangerous" behavior — and everyone else who helped him get there.
Mary Trump's memoir, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, paints a damaging picture of Trump's upbringing and rise to power, and has become an immediate bestseller based on preorders alone. And when discussing the book with The Washington Post's Ashley Parker, Mary Trump was not afraid to name names and assign blame.
Mary Trump blames Fred Trump, her grandfather and the president's father, "almost 100 percent" for Trump's beliefs and ultimate election. A clinical psychologist, she describes Fred Trump as a "sociopath" who led a family full of "a knee-jerk anti-Semitism, a knee-jerk racism." "Growing up, it was sort of normal to hear them use the n-word or use anti-Semitic expressions,” she added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It was Fred Trump who raised the president to have "an unerring instinct for finding people who are weaker than he is," while also somehow being "eminently usable by people who are stronger and savvier than he is," Mary Trump continued. But while Fred Trump was the president's "chief enabler," Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner are largely to blame now that he's in the White House, the Post writes. They're just like Trump's "chiefs of staff who went along thinking that they could have some kind of influence, only to find that they didn't," Mary Trump said.
Read more from The Washington Post's interview with Mary Trump here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Magazine solutions - May 2, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 2, 2025
By The Week US
-
Magazine printables - May 2, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 2, 2025
By The Week US
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
A dozen states sue Trump to halt tariffs
Speed Read The states sued in the US Court of International Trade, seeking to stop tariffs they say will damage their economies
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump blames Zelenskyy for peace deal setbacks
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the US proposal, which includes Russia's takeover of Crimea
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US