Donald Trump's Nephew, Fred Trump III, Said The Former President Told Him To Let His Son With Disabilities Die
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Donald Trump's nephew, Fred C. Trump III, appeared on The View today and accused the former president of saying something truly horrific about his grand-nephew with disabilities.
Cohost Sara Haines kicked off the segment, saying Fred's son William was born in 1999 with "a rare genetic disorder causing severe developmental and intellectual disabilities." Fred asked his uncle to establish a medical fund, which Donald replenished for years. However, the medical fund eventually ran low, and Fred called his uncle to request more money.
"It doesn't get any easier to recall this moment, but, yes, the fund which was only necessary because my inheritance was taken away from me and Mary [Trump]," Fred said, referring to his sister who's also an outspoken critic of the former president. "I called him to say, 'Donald, the fund is running low.'"
"Without skipping a beat, he said, 'Your son doesn't recognize you. Let him die and move down to Florida.'"
Horrified gasps broke out in the audience.
"I can't explain how anybody could say that about another human being, least of all your grand-nephew."
In his new memoir, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, Fred wrote that he shouldn't have been surprised by his uncle's treatment of William, considering Donald allegedly said something similar after an Oval Office meeting with doctors and advocates for disabled rights. Though Donald had "sounded interested and even concerned" during the meeting, Fred recalled the then-president saying afterward, "Those people... The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die."
Fred wrote that he "truly did not know what to say. He was talking about expenses. We were talking about human lives. … I turned and walked away."
According to Healthline, the term ableism describes "any prejudice, bias, and discrimination directed toward people living with disabilities." Institutional ableism — the ableist policies and practices woven into the very structure of society — "reinforces, and even promotes, disability prejudice."
It should go without saying that blatant, callous ableism has no place anywhere in our society, but especially in the highest office of the nation. Institutional ableism is incredibly dangerous as it directly impacts the quality of life and care for people with disabilities, who deserve better from their country.
On The View, Fred said that Donald had never met William. "He didn't understand the inspiration that William is to people. Anyone who William meets, and if you look at the smiles... He is quite something."
Cohost Joy Behar said, "That tells you a lot about the man, doesn't it? And his policies will let people die also." Fred agreed, "Yeah. As I call them, the merry band of miscreants that he surrounds himself with in Washington."
Fred shared that he did not vote for Donald in 2016 or 2020. "I will be voting for Kamala Harris, and if I'm asked, I will campaign for her without hesitation," he concluded.
At the end of the segment, cohost Sunny Hostin read a statement to ABC News from the former president's campaign:
"This is completely fabricated and total fake news of the highest order. It's appalling a lie so blatantly disgusting can be printed in media. Anyone who knows President Trump knows he would never use such language, and false stories like this have been thoroughly debunked."
You can watch the full clip here:
