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Donald Trump's upbringing in a deeply dysfunctional family makes him a uniquely destructive and unstable leader for the country, his estranged niece writes in a scathing new book, perhaps the most personal in a series of deeply unflattering tell-all accounts about the president.
Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist, describes her uncle as deeply insecure and unscrupulous, saying he paid a friend to take his SAT so he could get into college. She accuses him of "twisted behaviors" and "cheating as a way of life," citing a lifelong habit of lying.
"Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. He knows he has never been loved," writes the 55-year-old daughter of the president's eldest brother, Fred.
The Times obtained an early copy of her 240-page book, "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man." It is scheduled to be released on July 14.
The book, which portrays President Trump as almost pitifully desperate for affirmation, provides a harsh contrast to his self-made image as a tough and successful businessman. It also represents an extraordinary breach in the wall of secrecy that he has erected around his life.
More than any modern president, Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal or distort major details of his private life, barring his schools from releasing transcripts, refusing to disclose his tax returns or detailed health information, and requiring employees and others to sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent the release of unflattering material about his business and personal affairs.
The author says the president's late father, Fred Sr., was domineering and a "high-functioning sociopath," and his late mother, also named Mary, was "emotionally and physically absent." They left Trump, she argues, without empathy and "fundamentally incapable of acknowledging the suffering of others."
"Honest work was never demanded of him, and no matter how badly he failed, he was rewarded in ways that are almost unfathomable," she writes.
"Now the stakes are far higher than they've ever been before;...