Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece, has always been a vocal critic of her uncle and the way he governs the country. Mary has also repeatedly pointed out signs of cognitive decline in the president, while highlighting the possibility of the onset of dementia.
In a recent appearance on The Daily Beast podcast, Mary Trump discussed additional traits of President Trump’s behavior, including his lack of accountability and tendency to escalate matters that could be handled more effectively. Mary emphasized that these habits did not develop overnight but instead took shape over time, beginning in childhood.
Explaining why Trump has turned out the way he is, Mary said, “From the beginning of his adulthood, if not earlier, Donald was never ever held to account for anything and he was enabled at every turn. And eventually that creates a monster, and we see that happening with increasing impact.”
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Mary also recalled how the president’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, had told her that Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, also bore some responsibility for how the president turned out. Mary then added, “I was remarking on how incapable he, Donald, is of taking responsibility for anything, and I was sort of shocked to see that what used to be considered an admirable quality in adult human beings—taking responsibility, apologizing—had been turned on its head, and now it became sort of a sign of your strength and masculinity to deny all wrongdoing and never take responsibility.”
She continued, “And she said, ‘Oh, he learned that from your grandfather,’ because apparently, my grandfather also never took responsibility for anything. It was always somebody else’s fault.” It should be noted here that Trump’s inner circle also seems to be aware of this, as it is full of people who repeat what he says and defend his words and actions even when they stand in clear violation of democratic norms or the Constitution.
Talking more about the people in Trump’s orbit and the way they behave, Mary added, “Some of them are like him, you know: they are perfectly comfortable lying like they breathe. They are perfectly comfortable blaming victims. They are solely interested in maintaining their own power and proximity to power.”
She then added, “Donald has modeled this behavior for decades now, you know: be a bully, be a thug, be disrespectful, and then… complain when you think other people are behaving the same way. In fact, in the aftermath of Renee Good’s murder, Donald actually said, well, she was being disrespectful towards law enforcement—as if that means that she deserved to be killed.”
Now, with the Supreme Court on the administration’s side, Trump and his allies’ actions are increasingly treated as official acts, allowing them to proceed with little consequence. Mary Trump then added, “That trickles down to other people in the administration. So, we now know that you can be a participant in an insurrection against your own government, [and] as long as you are in support of Donald Trump, you’re going to get pardoned.”
“I don’t care what his cult says. I know him personally. And here’s the truth: My uncle is the only person I know without one redeeming quality. Not a single one.”
~Mary L. Trump, a clinical psychologist and Donald Trump’s niece pic.twitter.com/vxhQAb4FyK
— AUSAR (@AusarCushite) January 21, 2026
She continued, “If you’re an ICE agent murdering American citizens in cold blood, as long as you are doing that in service to advancing Donald Trump’s agenda, you’re going to get pardoned. You are going to be given absolute immunity, which is a thing that doesn’t even exist, and they’re not even going to allow local and state law enforcement to be part of the investigation. So we’re never even going to get the truth.”
While Mary Trump analyzed Trump’s personality and why he behaves as he does now, the White House has refuted the credibility of the psychologist and author. Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Daily Beast, “Mary Trump is a stone-cold loser who doesn’t have a clue about anything. Her entire worth as a human being is predicated on spewing lies about President Trump in a sad attempt to stay relevant.”
Though the White House discredited Mary’s comments on Trump, the president’s behavior aligns with the traits his niece pointed out.
