President Donald Trump’s niece believes that while the Jeffrey Epstein files crisis might weaken him, her uncle “isn’t the problem anymore.”
Mary L. Trump, 60, an outspoken critic of her father’s younger brother, was responding to a question Sunday during an “Ask Me Anything” Q&A session on X about whether she thought the Epstein files would serve as the “catalyst for the MAGA movement ending over a period of time.”
“Maybe in the long term, but not in the short term,” Mary said. She added that, in the immediate future, the outrage among Trump’s base over his handling of the late sex offender’s case weakens him “considerably.”
“This goes right to the heart of his base,” said the psychologist and author, who in 2020 published a tell-all book on Trump, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
But she’s far less certain about how things will play out in the long haul, even as the Epstein files bring Trump’s personal relationship with the convicted sex offender under an intensifying spotlight.
“Even if it implicates him, nobody’s going to indict him,” Mary said, alluding to both the fierce loyalty Trump, 79, has cultivated within his administration and the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling that presidents cannot be criminally prosecuted for “official acts.”
Mary also noted that a JD Vance presidency, should Trump be impeached or pressured into resigning this term, would be devastating for liberals. She alluded that Vance will be the real problem moving forward.
“Theoretically, for whatever reason [the Epstein saga] did kind of end [Trump’s] reign of power, JD Vance becomes president,” she said, suggesting the more polished—but equally right-wing—politician is more dangerous than her uncle.
However, Mary made clear that the possibility of a Vance presidency should not keep Democrats from pushing Trump about his ties to Epstein.
“We need to remember this, it’s really important—I’m not saying this shouldn’t all play out, because of course it should,“ she said. “What I’m saying is, Donald Trump isn’t the problem anymore. That’s what I’m saying. And we need to be very, very clear about that.”
During his second term, Trump has assembled a team of supporters who have fully embraced his MAGA brand of politics, unlike in his first term, when internal pushback would sometimes curb his most extreme ideas.
Mary, a psychologist, said Trump is reenacting their family dynamic—one where his father, Fred Trump, controlled everyone in his orbit. She noted, however, that “Donald is acting like he’s always acted.”
“The arrogance was always there. The insecure defensiveness was always there. The bullying was always there,” she said.
Mary also claimed that Trump’s wild rant about windmills on Sunday is “evidence of serious cognitive impairment.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
