Trump campaign adviser not worried leaked Maryanne Trump Barry audio will hurt election chances

(Image credit: Screenshot/NBC/Twitter)

last updated 24 August 2020

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller brushed aside leaked audio recordings in which President Trump's older sister and retired federal judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, can be heard sharply criticizing her younger brother.

In the tapes, which were secretly recorded by Trump's niece, Mary Trump, and obtained by The Washington Post, Barry can be heard saying the president "has no principles" and lies frequently. She also claims he paid someone to take his "entrance exams" so he could get into the University of Pennsylvania.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Meadows was a little harsher on Barry, whom he criticized for not attending the funeral of her other younger brother Robert, who died last week, and he also attempted to dispute some of her claims. Barry said Trump "doesn't read," but Meadows made the case the president reads more than anyone he knows. Ultimately, though, Meadows said it boils down to "just another day and another attack." Tim O'Donnell

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox