You could devote an entire bookstore to the tell-all books that have been written by people in Donald Trump’s orbit since he became president in 2017, but the latest comes from a source especially close to the former president: his nephew, Fred C. Trump III.
The author of All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way is the son of Fred Trump Jr., Donald Trump’s brother, and his up-close-and-personal look at his famous uncle is generating headlines for the shocking revelations within. The book offers much to discuss, so our very own Katie Couric linked up with the man who wrote it, to get the scoop.
Fred Trump is, of course, not the first family member to write such a revealing book: His sister, Mary Trump, previously wrote Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man — a book that Fred called “a breach of trust and a violation of our privacy.” Now, he explains to Katie why he feels differently about writing his own tell-all.
“The difference between Mary’s book and mine is I knew Donald from his formative years and had maintained a very close relationship throughout those years, his business career, and his term in the White House. Mary really did not have anywhere near that type of relationship,” Fred says. “So my book is about actual stories that happened, as opposed to looking at it through the lens of someone who didn’t have access that I did.”
And several of the stories that made it into All in the Family are quite explosive. One centers around Fred’s son, William, who was born with a genetic mutation called KCNQ2 that has lead to severe medical complications. Fred says that, after an Oval Office meeting in 2020 at which various cabinet secretaries discussed how they could support the disabled community, Donald Trump told him, “Those people, all the expenses — those people should just die.”
In this interview, Katie clarifies that the former president was referring to people with disabilities, which Fred Trump confirms, reiterating that his uncle felt they were too expensive to care for. But Donald’s comments along these lines didn’t stop there, Fred says.
“A few years later, I needed to call Donald about something to do with William — his medical fund. And Donald said, ‘He doesn’t recognize you. Let him die and move down to Florida,'” Fred recalls — adding that his son does, in fact, recognize him. “I don’t know how to explain that comment to anybody. I don’t know how someone could say those words about another human being, least of all his grandnephew.”
In the video above, watch Katie’s complete, in-depth conversation with Fred, including history about the earlier Trump generations, Fred’s explanation of why he’s voting for Kamala Harris, and childhood memories of more positive times with his uncle.
