Justin Sullivan/Getty Images;/AP Photo/John Bazemore
Mary Trump, the estranged niece of former President Donald Trump, has offered insights into what reportedly keeps her uncle awake at night: concerns over his reputation and, ironically, a significant amount of Diet Coke. In a recent interview with CNN, Mary discussed the psychological toll of Trump’s ongoing legal battles, particularly focusing on the $454 million judgment in a civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
This judgment, which found Trump and The Trump Organization guilty of inflating assets to secure more favorable business deals, directly challenges Trump’s self-image as a successful businessman. Mary Trump pointed out, “I think it’s really important to clarify, it’s not that he be successful, it’s that he’s seen to be successful. Because deep down Donald knows that he is nothing of what he pretends to be.
I think what keeps him up at night, other than a lot of Diet Coke, would be this concern, one, that he doesn’t actually have the money,” as reported by Newsweek. Trump’s defense team had requested a delay in the payment of the judgment pending an appeal, but this request was rejected by a New York appellate judge.
This denial led Mary to speculate that her uncle might not have as much cash as he claims, potentially exposing a significant gap between his self-proclaimed wealth and reality. “He may not indeed have that much cash which would reveal not just to the world but to himself, that he is not as rich as he claims to be,” she noted.
Mary also suggested that Trump’s self-image as a savvy businessman, which has been cultivated since the 1980s, could be deeply undermined. “He is not the savvy businessman who’s been betrayed in New York tabloids since the 1980s. And that would be a crushing blow not just to his image, but to his sense of himself,” she said.
Despite his fierce denial of the fraud case ruling and claims of being worth more than the court figures suggest, Trump’s actual financial status remains shrouded in mystery. In addition to his financial troubles, Trump is also grappling with multiple criminal indictments and felony charges at both the state and federal levels. Although he maintains his innocence and dismisses the charges as politically motivated, the legal challenges undoubtedly contribute to his stress and anxiety.
Mary Trump reflected, “Just the stress of running again, the stress of having lost, it’s going to take its toll,” adding, “I see somebody who’s quite desperate and who is terrified. I think deep down Donald has always been a terrified little boy. But the truth is, he has much, much more to be terrified about now. His entire future hinges on his ability to get back into the White House.”
