Former president Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump, who is a clinical psychologist, on Saturday delved into the psychology behind her uncle’s actions and his supposedly pretentious life as someone rich and wealthy.
Affinity For Dictators: Donald Trump has never evolved beyond the kind of person he was when he was very young, Mary Trump said in a CNN interview. She suggested that this could be due to the environment where he grew up. “He grew up in an authority-driven household, and because of the way my grandfather, who was a quite straight-up sociopath,” she said.
“Donald became the favorite son and he knew what he needed to do in order to stay on my grandfather’s good side because he also understood what would happen to him if he didn’t.”
The psychologist, who is also a podcaster and author, said her uncle is very comfortable in such an environment. “He’s very comfortable in this milieu and it is extremely important to him that he gets the benefits of associating with strongmen like [Viktor] Orban and [Vladimir] Putin, but also that he be on their good side,” she said.
Seemingly Successful: Donald Trump isn’t successful but is seen to be successful, his niece said. “Deep down, Donald knows that he is nothing of what he pretends to be; He’s nothing like the portrait he shows to the world, at least to those people who are inclined to believe the myths he tells about himself,” she said, adding that this keeps him up at night.
The reason behind Donald Trump’s lawyers requesting to post a $100 million bond instead of the $464 million penalty slapped on him in the New York fraud civil case, could be because he doesn’t have the money or to buy more time, Mary Trump said.
“But he may not indeed have that much cash … [it] would reveal not just to the world, but to himself that he is not as rich as he claims to be, he is not the savvy businessman who’s been betrayed in New York tabloids since the 1980s,” the ex-president’s niece said.
“And that would be a crushing blow not just to his image, but to his sense of himself.”
Difference Between Now And 2015: When probed whether there is any difference between 2015 when he announced his decision to run for the first time, and now, Mary Trump replied in the affirmative. “I think for anybody in his position, it would be impossible not to be affected by the massive amount of stress he’s under, the conflicts, just the stress of running again, the stress of having lost….it’s going to take its toll,” she said.
“I see somebody who’s quite desperate, and who is terrified.”
While noting that Donald Trump has always been a “terrified little body,” Mary Trump said he has much more to be terrified about now.
“His entire future hinges on his ability to get back into the White House and despite the fact that there are plenty of people helping him out, including, it would appear, some members of the Supreme Court, that is not something that he can totally count on,” she said.
This, the psychologist said, is going to impact his ability to think straight and express himself.
“So, yes, I do see differences, and I think we can put that down to the fact that his life is just a constant stress,” she added.
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