Mary Trump explains why her uncle Donald cared more about boxing instead of Sept. 11 anniversary

MARY, MARY QUITE CONTRARY

Mary Trump on MSNBC (screengrab)

Sarah K. Burris
September 12, 2021

Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta on Sunday, Dr. Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, explained why her uncle was more focused on making money on Sept. 11 than he was about the victims and survivors on the 20th anniversary of such a horrific tragedy.

While the people of the U.S. were mourning and recalling the sadness surrounding the day, Trump eagerly provided commentary with his son for a boxing match on the day. At the same time, other political leaders flocked to remembrance sites. Trump bragged he scored an "obscene" amount of money for the gig, something he likely needs to fight the legal problems he's facing.

"It's entirely in keeping in what Donald always does," said Dr. Trump. "He doesn't understand dignity. He doesn't understand tragedy. He doesn't understand anything that doesn't pertain directly to him. And he will always push the envelope as long as he's allowed to. And this is the problem here. He's always allowed to. He's always allowed to get away with it. So, you and I might think it's bizarre behavior because it is for any decent human being, but one, he's not a decent human being and, two, where's the pushback? Nobody raised their voices on his side of the aisle against that appearance so he will continue to get away with whatever he can get away with as long as they let him."

She explained this part of the problem, noting that he continues "to be supported by Republican leadership or at least not criticized by them. They are not taking a stance against his spreading the first big lie about the election. They're not taking a stance about his second big lie about the insurrection, and last I checked, nobody pushed back on the fact that on the 20th anniversary of the worst tragedy to hit this country, he was commentating a boxing match to line his own pockets."

The two went on to talk about Trump's big COVID-19 scare when he was put in the hospital. Dr. Trump said that she thought the former president was actually afraid and he was struggling.

"He was very ill and, as somebody who had very bad asthma as a child, I know what it looks like when somebody is struggling to breathe, which he clearly was," she said. "But beyond that, in my family, showing any kind of weakness, even if it's succumbing to a virus, is considered fatal. You don't ever want to admit any kind of weakness at all. And he was probably quite afraid that he was not going to be able to either to pretend that he was okay or continue to recover, which ultimately he did. But I saw a completely terrified man who didn't know what to do in that moment."

See the full interview below: