Donald Trump’s niece Mary has released secretly recorded conversations with her aunt Maryanne Trump Barry, the president’s older sister and now a retired US federal judge.
In one of their heart-to-heart talks shared on MSNBC’s The ReidOut podcast, Barry can be heard ripping Ivanka for posting what she believed was a tone-deaf Instagram pic of herself with one of her kids around the time critics were claiming the Trump administration was separating migrant children from their families back in 2018. The post was blasted at the time by comedian Samantha Bee, who later apologised for using the c-word to attack the senior White House adviser.
“'When that damn Ivanka puts this picture of the Madonna and child on Instagram when the big news of the day was how kids are being ripped from their families”, 83-year-old Barry comments in the clip, adding she didn’t blame Bee for her staunch criticism.
The audio then goes on to a different recording that appears to reveal Trump Barry taking aim not only at Ivanka, but Donald Trump’s son Eric as well.
"Meanwhile, Eric's become the moron publicly. Ivanka gives a s**t. She's all about her", Trump Barry charges, with Mary Trump instantly agreeing: "Yeah, she's a mini-Donald".
"She's a mini-Donald but yet he's besotted with her. He always has been", Trump Barry responds. "She's always been his favourite", Trump’s niece explains her viewpoint, recalling Trump’s attitude to his children.
The new audio follows another recently revealed recording, shared by The Washington Post, in which Trump's older sister said her brother "has no principles".
“All he wants to do is appeal to his base”, Barry Trump reportedly said in the audio. “He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this”.
The Trump campaign dismissed the previous audio, saying "sibling rivalry" is the most probable explanation for it.
"Sibling rivalries are nothing new in the world. It’s been going on since the beginning of time, in fact, we heard some pretty pointed commentary from Malik Obama about former President Barack Obama", Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said, suggesting it is common practice that certain relatives come forward with claims:
"And so, this is something unfortunately when you get to the White House, you have family members who sometimes decide to voice their sibling rivalries or frustrations".
The releases closely follow the controversy around a memoir penned by Mary Trump, who appealed to court over the summer to have it published after the White House issued a lawsuit blasting it as a bunch of “falsehoods”.
The book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man", which was scheduled to see the light of day just months prior to the national presidential polls, severely rips the president. The president hit back at the claims, insisting his niece is simply attempting to make money.
In July, Trump referred to Mary Trump as “a seldom seen niece who knows little about me, says untruthful things about my wonderful parents (who couldn’t stand her!) and me” in violation of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).