President Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, warned on Monday that the president's mental and physical decline is revealing "more of who he has always been," especially as his talk of restarting the war with Iran becomes more "unhinged."
Mary Trump, a psychologist and author, discussed her uncle's health during a podcast interview with Jessica Yellin, founder of News Not Noise and a former White House correspondent for CNN. Mary Trump argued that there are "striking similarities" between her uncle's behavior and her grandfather's behavior as his Alzheimer's progressed. She warned that Trump's impulsivity and increasingly violent rhetoric present a "frightening reality" that people are using those impulses to "build the country they want."
"We’ve heard former supporters, including people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, say that Donald isn’t the same man they once knew. The truth is almost the opposite," Trump said. "Because of his cognitive and psychological decline, we’re actually seeing more of who he has always been. He’s simply no longer capable of hiding it as effectively as he once could."
One aspect of the president's behavior that has alarmed Mary Trump is the way he talks about the war in Iran. She argued that he has become "completely unhinged."
Monday marked the third consecutive day of U.S. strikes against Iran, which followed Iran's insistence to shut down the Strait of Hormuz again, a critical global waterway that is responsible for about 20% of the energy market. Trump claims his administration forcibly reopened the Strait and has begun charging a toll to countries that trade with Iran and use the waterway.
The move seems to contradict the stance of administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and could also violate international law.
Even though those acts are depraved enough, Mary Trump also warned that Trump has surrounded himself with "true believers" who may be willing to take things a step farther to "build exactly the country they want."
"Those groups present different dangers, but together they’ve made Donald far more powerful than he ever could have become alone," Mary Trump said.