While most of former President Donald Trump's family members have used their last name to cash in on his influence and defend his actions, Trump's niece—Mary Trump—has used it to further legitimize critiques of his character.
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, Mary Trump's tell-all of Trump's formative moments and the family's role in them, lobbed a host of new allegations against Trump upon its 2020 debut, including claims that he cheated on his SAT's and suffered under a poisonous family dynamic.
In addition to her intimate knowledge of the family, Mary Trump is a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma.
This past weekend, Mary Trump appeared on MSNBC to provide insight into Trump's continuing hold on the Republican party, despite losing the 2020 election, being twice impeached, and inciting a deadly insurrection on the United States Capitol.
Trump appeared as the keynote speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, where he was greeted with chants of "We love you!" and his name was likely even more ubiquitous at the conference than the American flag. Trump also overwhelmingly won the conference's annual straw poll of potential GOP presidential nominees.
Mary Trump shot down any claims that the Republican party's embrace of Trump is out of fear.
Watch below.
Acknowledging that Trump gives his followers "permission to be their worst selves," she said:
"I hear people say that the Republicans are afraid of Donald. No they're not. They are him. He is them. He represents them. And they also know that if they stick with him and they keep the base riled up and motivated to go out and vote, all they need to do is continue to engage in the counter-majoritarian tactics that have actually kept them relevant as a party."
People agreed with her analysis.
For this reason, many believe Trump would win again in 2024.
Trump will be 78 on the next presidential election day.
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