Today in her latest newsletter, Mary L. Trump, niece of former President Donald Trump, didn’t hold back. She went straight for the jugular, calling her uncle the “death candidate” in the looming 2024 presidential race.
Mary lashed out following the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn a ban on bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic rifles to shoot rapidly akin to machine guns, a policy that her uncle had implemented during his presidency.
The 6-3 Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, clarified that bump stocks are not the same as machine guns and therefore cannot be prohibited under the existing law. This generated outrage among gun safety advocates, especially in light of the tragic 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting where a gunman equipped with bump stock modified rifles claimed over 60 lives and injured more than 400 individuals in just 11 minutes.
Mary Trump pointed out that her uncle’s response to the ruling reveals his stance on gun violence. She mentioned his lack of action on gun control legislation despite several tragic mass shootings during his time in office, such as those in Sutherland Springs, Parkland, and El Paso.
Besides his position on gun rights, Mary Trump highlighted Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as further proof of his disregard for American lives.
When the U.S. became a global COVID-19 hotspot in March 2020, President Trump downplayed the severity of the crisis, insisting that the government was making great strides against the pandemic. Meanwhile, healthcare workers were overwhelmed and hotspots were multiplying.
Mary criticized Trump for underestimating the crisis and providing misleading information about the virus’s impact, even though he praised his administration’s efforts in distributing essential supplies to states and expressed optimism that the situation would improve soon.
Public opinion on the President’s pandemic response was varied, with some applauding his efforts while others, like Mary Trump, condemned him for his handling of the crisis, attributing over 400,000 American deaths to his incompetence and inaction.
In her accusatory tone, Mary Trump asserted that her uncle’s actions, including his anti-vaccine rhetoric and provocative language, have contributed to violence and extremism. However, Trump and his legal team have consistently denied any responsibility for inciting the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
Throughout his second impeachment trial, Trump’s defense argued that his speech on the morning of January 6th did not meet the legal standards for incitement, claiming his speech was protected by the First Amendment. They contended that Trump called for peaceful protests, condemned violence, and suggested that the riots were premeditated and not a direct consequence of his words.
Trump’s defense team also accused Democrats of pushing impeachment due to “political animosity” and engaging in what they termed “constitutional cancel culture,” questioning the authenticity of the impeachment managers’ evidence by pointing out their reliance on media sources.
“The concerning reality is that Donald poses a significant national security risk to Americans,” wrote Mary Trump. “This is a crucial election for people’s lives. And my uncle represents the side of death.”
“Let’s opt for life, shall we?” she concluded.