Was Meghan McCain Too Hard On Mary Trump?

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By Ashley Joanisse

On July 14th, 2020, Mary Trump, niece of Donald Trump, released her new book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” a-tell all book about President Donald Trump. Since the book release, Mary Trump has been on a press tour and has been interviewed by George Stephanopoulos at ABC News, Rachel Maddow at MSNBC, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and more.

Last week, she was invited to come on The View, the daytime talk show hosted by four women, including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, and the widely controversial host Meghan McCain. The interview started with Whoopi welcoming Mary to the show, Mary is seen live from her home, Whoopi starts the interview off by asking what she thinks Donald Trump is so afraid of, since he tried so hard to stop the publication of her book. Mary stated, “I think he’s terrified and again I wouldn’t say it’s conscious but very deep down uh he’s terrified of being revealed not to be any of the things he claims to be… or believes himself to be you know the best, the greatest, the smartest…”

Then Joy Behar takes the reigns and thanks Mary for coming on the show, showing much excitement and enthusiasm, referring to Mary as her hero and thanking her for her bravery. She brings up the dysfunction of Donald Trump’s childhood, that Mary addresses in the book, and asks her if she sees the same dysfunction in the new generation of Trump’s with Donald Trump, JR., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Trump (Husband to Ivanka Trump). Mary Trump answers the question, by stating that she is unable to speak on that topic because they are so much younger than her and states that she has not got the chance to really get to know them. She mentions they come from two different generations of grandchildren.

Then Sunny Hostin asks Mary how she thinks her grandfather, Fred Trump, who she refers to as a high-functioning sociopath in the book, shaped who Donald Trump is today. She said her grandfather was critical of her father’s kind nature, and that Donald Trump saw that as a lesson, to essentially not be anything like his brother, Mary’s father Freddy. She further explained that Donald was taught that if he wanted success and acceptance from his father, he must become a, “Killer tough guy.”

The interview seemed to be going very smoothly, but it took a very dramatic turn when it was Meghan McCain’s turn to ask questions. Meghan immediately starts the interview off with a very negative tone, dismissing Mary Trump’s book by stating, “ Miss Trump, it’s Meghan, look I think I’ve made it very clear to your publishers I don’t like books like this, I don’t like family tell-all books especially when it comes to families with fame and power …they’re told from one side and often the subjects are villainized to the point that I don’t actually end up believing the stuff written there…at the end of the day, you get a really good paycheck out of it but I don’t think it’s that legitimate, what do you say to people like me who think this is just a great way for you to get a paycheck right now?” Mary responds to her and mentions that Meghan is entitled to her opinion, she suggests that, “If you were to read the book you would see that I bring to the story my very deep experience within the family, I’m not some stranger writing it, I’m his niece.”

She tries to further carry on her point but Meghan cuts her off and argues, “But you’re not close with the family, where you say you have any relationship with Ivanka, I mean I think the last thing I understand is that you did end up going to her wedding but you thought you were only invited as a courtesy so again…there are people in my family that we only interact with at funerals and things like that so I don’t think people like that would know the inner workings of my immediate family dynamic in the way that you present it.”

Mary Trump tries to defend herself again by trying to address the question again, She states calmly, “I would love to answer your question, I am not extended family, Donald’s my dad’s younger brother, and my cousins, Donald’s children, are completely irrelevant to the story I was telling which is in my view, the foundational narrative about my family and how Donald became the person he is…” Mary continues to explain herself debunking Meghan’s claim that it was all for money, but Meghan becomes critical of her again, criticizing her attendance at the White House three years ago, saying that she attended on the tax payer’s dime, and brings up the fact she does not know Ivanka and the other family members again.

Mary Trump defends herself for a third time, saying that she does not understand why Meghan is so focused on her cousins, when they are so much younger than her and claims it is absurd of her to claim she went there on the “tax paper’s dime,” and that families are complicated, and she attended the White House for her aunt’s birthday and argues, “…to focus on these things, takes away from the important things I write about in the book.”

At this point in the interview, it is evident that Mary Trump is frustrated with the way Meghan is treating her and Meghan seems to be rather critical of Mary, and does not give her much opportunity to defend herself or change her mind. I think it speaks widely to the type of division there is currently in politics.

Meghan is not allowing Mary to defend her views, she is just asserting her opinions on her and not allowing her to debunk them. She criticizes her for not having a relationship with Donald Trump’s children, even though Mary states over and over that the relationship is irrelevant to the story she is trying to tell and that the book is not about them. Meghan does not seem interested in listening to her views, and the fact that she is so focused on Mary’s relationship with Donald’s children seems to suggest that she did not read Mary’s book, which is something Mary brings up. It is fair to be critical of someone’s views, but when you do not allow someone to bring forward their points and dismiss them without giving them an opportunity to explain themselves, it can be very belittling. I find it to be quite interesting that Meghan is not allowing her guest to express her views, on a television network, called, “The View,” a show that boasts themselves as a place for women to speak their views on politics and hot topics.

So, at this point, I would like to turn the tables to you, by asking the following question, do you think Meghan McCain was too hard on Mary Trump?

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