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As more and more details come to light about the events in the White House of January 6, one of many questions that has arisen is why Donald Trump Jr. texted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows instead of his father, former Republican President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump's niece, author and psychologist Mary Trump, has an answer.
Trump Jr. was one of several people revealed in records released by the House Select Committee to have texted Meadows on January 6, pleading with him to get the former President to stop the violence at the Capitol.
So why didn't Trump Jr. go directly to the source and text his father instead? According to Mary Trump, it all comes down to one word: "cowardice." See her interview below.
Mary Trump: Donald Trump Had The Power To Stop Jan. 6 Riotwww.youtube.com
The texts revealed by the Select Committee, gleaned from a trove of documents submitted by Meadows to the committee, give a stark picture of the panic that ensued January 6 even among the former President's inner circle.
In one text, Trump Jr. told Meadows:
"He’s got to condemn this sh*t ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough."
Meadows replied that he agreed and was "pushing hard." A subsequent text makes clear the escalating alarm occurring behind the scenes. Trump Jr. texted:
“We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
Given how frenzied Trump Jr. seems to have been, it seems astonishing he didn't simply call his father directly. MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell jokingly suggested Trump Jr. probably didn't bother because his father would have screened his son's call with caller ID. But Mary Trump's explanation was far simpler. She told O'Donnell:
"In this particular instance, it’s simply cowardice, because Donny knew that the message he was delivering was the message his father did not want to hear.”
On Twitter, people applauded Mary Trump's straight talk, and many of them shared her assessment.
I love her— M\ud83c\udf32MTIFA \ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\u2764 (@M\ud83c\udf32MTIFA \ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\u2764) 1639468533
It was fun seeing her laugh at her cousin Donnie.— Colleen Larkin No Lists\ud83c\udf1e\u262f\ufe0f\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf0f\u262e Vote Blue in '22 (@Colleen Larkin No Lists\ud83c\udf1e\u262f\ufe0f\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf0f\u262e Vote Blue in '22) 1639474457
Gonna be fun when they start blaming each other.— BLClark (@BLClark) 1639491684
I find it very entertaining Don Jr, & trumps friends at Fox were too afraid to text trump, instead reached out to Meadows.— Patricia Giubilo (@Patricia Giubilo) 1639488143
\u201cThey\u2019re all COWARDS\u201d Mary Trump just summed up all the people around Trump on Jan 6th . \nThey are all too gutless to stand up to tfgpic.twitter.com/NDRInFmwlK— Brontie Arkie (@Brontie Arkie) 1639452846
Junior didn\u2019t want to miss his monthly pay check or taken out of the will .Gutless is right noise problem— IrishLad \ud83c\udf40 (@IrishLad \ud83c\udf40) 1639470796
Mary Trump is the Tyrion Lannister of America.— Steve Hofstetter (@Steve Hofstetter) 1639491546
Mary Trump just said she thinks Don Jr was too cowardly to communicate directly to his dad. \n\nI kinda think Mary is right. Donnie likely wouldn't have the brass to tell 45 what to do.— Peacebird \ud83d\udc99 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Peacebird \ud83d\udc99 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1639452838
Donnie Jr. is a coward, just like his dad.\n\nMary Trump put her cousin Donald Trump Jr.'s messages to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows down to one thing. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mary-trump-donald-trump-jr-texts-meadows_n_61b844c0e4b08ff57939de15?utm_campaign=share_twitter&ncid=engmodushpmg00000004\u00a0\u2026 via @HuffPostPol #January6thCommission #Jan6thCommittee— Jerry Jensen (@Jerry Jensen) 1639486714
Mary Trump is the good Trump we did not expect. Thanks, @MaryLTrump.pic.twitter.com/51r7p9uvlF— annatolentini (@annatolentini) 1639487706
Mary Trump also said she expects the former President to publicly lash out over the released text messages, but at whom exactly is unclear given that his inner circle has "become so small" since he left office.