Fred Trump III, Donald Trump’s nephew is keen to see a bipartisan national effort to better support the needs of people with disabilities, and it comes from his passion as the father of a disabled son, so he used his family connections to advocate for disability rights when his uncle was president.
Fred succeeded. He had a White House meeting with disability advocates, attended by his uncle Donald. Donald later said that Fred should “just let his son, Donald Trump’s niece, die,” he recalls in his new book. All in the Family: Trump and How We Got Here.
Former President Fred Trump says he has never met his nephew William. In fact, he has never tried to. Donald is not the only Trump family member who shares that attitude, says Fred. He also, unsurprisingly, believes that “nothing positive has happened” on disability rights under the Trump administration.
Fred Trump’s disability rights goals included more accessible housing and better health care options (especially training doctors to treat people like my son who can’t speak), but there has been no progress under the Trump administration. Here’s hoping the younger Trump will make progress under Kamala Harris.
Fred Trump III said Mother Jones On his advocacy work, how Donald Trump treats his son, and why he supports Kamala Harris’s candidacy. “I would campaign for her if I was asked,” Trump said, “because I know she would be an advocate for the disability community.”
Before your uncle said those things about your son and people like him, how did he treat William?
Donald never asked, and he never met William, who is now 25. Never. He would sometimes ask, “How’s William? How’s the kids?” I have two other adult children, but he never said, “You know, can I meet him?” To be honest, he missed the opportunity to get to know William, who I consider to be one of the bravest and most inspiring people I’ve ever met.
Is that the same for other people in your family, or is it Donald’s decision?
Neither of my two aunts nor my other uncle, Robert, ever asked to see William. He had been in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai for three weeks, less than a mile from where they all lived, but they never visited him. In fact, they never called to see how he was doing while we were there.
You met with people at the White House to advocate for a better transition from pediatrics to adult care. How did that meeting come about?
When Donald came into office, my wife Lisa and I knew that there was an opportunity for him to use his position as president to benefit people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The first person we reached out to was my cousin Ivanka, who, as you know, was in the administration. She was wonderful, and she connected us with Ben Carson, who was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. As you know, housing for people with disabilities is a very difficult issue.
“For all that expense, those people should just die.”
It culminated in a meeting in May 2020 (when COVID was raging) with a group of brilliant people who were working on issues related to the complex disability community. To tell Donald, I called him up and said, “Listen to this. Do you understand?” He did, and we spent 45 minutes. The meeting was over, and he called me back in for a minute, and he said, “Those people, all that money, they just need to die.”
In the larger context, while people in our country may not react as drastically, the disabled community in this country is being neglected and people don’t seem to understand it. One of the most important things is how to take care of caregivers, better funding for caregivers, and making sure they can live their lives, and better education. I’m going through this in my town right now, and people are avoiding using the money that was given to ADA work to widen door frames. A lot of people don’t understand it unless they realize it personally.
In addition to what your uncle said, was there anything else your employees said after the meeting? Did you try to listen to what he said?
No, I don’t think anything positive has happened in the administration. That’s why I’m voting for Kamala Harris and will campaign for her if asked, because I know she’ll be an advocate for the disability community.
You mentioned that Ivanka arranged a meeting with you. I’m curious about what role your cousins played in your son’s life.
Eric and Donny were the only family members who met William. We invited them to our house, and Lisa and I invited them separately. Donny showed up with Vanessa, and I think he showed up with his first two children. Eric was with Lara before he got married. They both came, and we spent time together, and it was great.
They understood. They could see what kind of person William was, and again, he was a wonderful young man. I give them absolute credit. They have a charity that they are involved in, and it’s fantastic. I know Eric was very involved with St. Jude (Children’s Research Hospital), and I applaud him for that. Ivanka had her own life, and she helped in other ways as well.
“I don’t think anything positive has happened within the administration for people with disabilities.”
Based on the way your uncle treated your son, do you have concerns about how your uncle would represent Americans with disabilities if he were to run for a second term?
Let me answer this. (Tonight) the Harris campaign has a Zoom call called Disabled Voters for Harris. Imagine Disabled Voters for Trump. I don’t think he or his campaign would be interested in that.
The attitude of some people in this country towards disabled people is very disturbing. Like when Donald mocked disabled people. The New York Times Reporter Sergey Kovaleski. That was bad enough, but the fact that the crowd cheered for him is disgusting.
If given the chance, would you meet with Vice President Harris before the election or after she wins to discuss how the White House can better support people with complex health needs??
It’s my honor to do that. It’s not a matter of pride. (But) with this book coming out, I’m going to have a national platform, and I’m going to use that to the fullest extent to advocate on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Is there anything you would like to tell your uncle about your views on your son and on people with disabilities?
It’s not just the disabled (people) that he despises. It’s the people he thinks are less than him. If you have the power that he has and thinks he has, why don’t you work for the greater good? I know it’s a cliche, but isn’t it easier to help people than to help yourself?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity..
