Donald Trump Jr. broke his silence Wednesday on his cousin Mary Trump’s tell-all about the Trumps, suggesting that she didn’t know much about his family at all
‘If she was there I don’t remember seeing her, and other than possibly that one large family gathering, I don’t believe I’ve seen her in approximately 20 years,’ Trump Jr. tweeted responding to a tweet from radio show host Mark Simone.
Simone accused the media of not asking Mary Trump if she’s met President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump Jr. broke his silence about his cousin Mary Trump’s expose on the Trump family, suggesting she really didn’t know the family
Donald Trump Jr. said he didn’t remember seeing Mary Trump at a White House gathering that she describes in the book. She recalled Trump Jr. being there, calling him ‘Donny’
Mary Trump was asked why she decided to go to the White House in 2017 and said she did so because they were celebrating her aunt Maryanne’s birthday and they had gotten close
Mary Trump, seen sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office during an April 2017 visit to the White House, appeared on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ Wednesday
‘She was in the same room in 2017 for a large family gathering. Eric didn’t recognize her, having never seen her. She has no photograph anywhere of her with Donald Trump,’ Simone wrote.
Mary Trump opened her book with her trip to the White House that she took several months after her uncle became president to celebrate her aunt Maryanne and aunt Elizabeth’s birthday.
She described her encounters with her family members in great detail.
She explained on ‘Good Morning America’ in an interview that aired Wednesday that she felt obligated to go because she had grown close to Maryanne, the oldest Trump sister.
‘I had been on the outside of this family for a really long time and after my cousin Ivanka’s wedding – which for reasons I still don’t understand I was invited to – my aunt Maryanne and I started talking,’ she recalled.
She said that relationship mattered to her. ‘It was the first time I felt party of the family since I was a kid.’
‘And somehow it was very easy for me to put aside all of the things that had happened previous to that when I got invited to her birthday party, I felt that I should go,’ she said.
During that White House trip she described her interactions with the president, who she said hugged her for the first time.
DailyMail.com also obtained a photo of her seated at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
She said those in attendance included the four living Trump children: Donald, Maryanne, Elizabeth and Robert, along with Robert’s girlfriend and Maryanne’s son David. Her brother Fritz and his wife Lisa also came.
When the party waited to enter the Oval Office she spotted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan and Vice President Mike Pence in the room.
She wrote that she re-introduced herself to Eric Trump who replied, ‘Of course I know who you are.’
‘”Well, it’s been awhile,” I said, “I think the last time we saw each other, you were still in high school,”‘ she told her cousin.
George Stephanopoulos (right) interviewed Mary Trump (left) Tuesday for an interview that aired Wednesday morning on ‘Good Morning America’
Mary Trump’s book about her famous family came out Tuesday, despite family concerns
Mary’s book paints a dark portrait of the Trump family and says that the President’s father Fred Sr neglected him so much it amounted to ‘child abuse’
Mary portrays the Trump family as deeply damaged people, starting with Fred Sr and his wife Mary and filtering down to their five children. Pictured from left to right Robert, Elizabeth, Fred Jr, Donald and Maryanne Trump
He ‘shrugged,’ she said, and replied, ‘that’s probably true.
She also noted in the book that Eric walked away without introducing Mary to his wife, Lara.
‘I looked around. Melania, Ivanka, Jared and Donny had arrived and were standing next to Donald, who remained seated,’ she described, using Donald Trump Jr.’s nickname ‘Donny’ through the chapter.
She also said that ‘Mike Pence continued to lurk on the other side of the room with a half-dead smile on his face, like the chaperone everybody wanted to avoid.’
And once the family was gathered she recalled that ‘Donny’ – who had chased Jared Kushner down a hallway – had returned and stoof up to give a toast.
‘Instead of toasting our aunts, he gave a sort of campaign speech,’ she remembered.
‘I glanced at my brother and rolled my eyes,’ she added.
After ‘Donny’s’ speech she requested more wine from the server.