Mary Trump, niece of former President Trump, expressed mixed confidence that her uncle will be convicted in court, suggesting “there is always a way out for him” as his criminal trial for hiding the money continues in New York.
“I think the real split screen we need to think about is Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and Donald Trump, the anti-American authoritarian wannabe,” Mary said in an interview with MSNBC.
“And the problem is that we are seeing that they are being treated as two totally different people. It is as if the fact that he is criminally accused, the fact that he committed alleged crimes against the United States of America had no impact on his relevance or his position as a presidential candidate.”
She went on to say that she finds this “very concerning because it seems like there is always a way out for him. There is always someone willing to save you. Even if it seems like there is no escape…. And I don’t know if it worries me, honestly, that as deep as the trouble is that he’s in, that might not be enough.”
Trump returned to Manhattan court on Thursday, where he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. The accusations center on a secret payment that former Trump fixer and ex-lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
Last week, the trial heard testimony from media mogul David Peck, the former National Enquirer editor who allegedly worked as “eyes and ears” for Trump’s 2016 campaign, before taking a closer look this week at the paperwork behind the accusations.
Trump’s niece said she doesn’t want to get “too excited” as the trial is still in its “early days” when asked by MSNBC what it’s like to see her uncle face “accountability.”
She argued that Trump was able to “normalize outrageous and egregious behavior” and make outlandish comments without any proper accountability.
“This is a trend that has been happening for decades. Donald is incredibly good at pushing the limits and backing down in the rare cases where he is pushed back. But generally what happens is that he goes beyond the limits, breaks norms, defies expectations and gets away with it,” said Mary. “So, being who he is, he goes a little further to see what else he can do.”
Mary has been a fierce critic of her uncle in recent months and has published a book titled “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Most Dangerous Man in the World.”
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