Fred Trump's Shadiest Claims About His Famous Uncle Donald Trump

The children of Donald Trump's late brother, Fred Trump Jr., have spoken out against their famous uncle. Not only has Donald's niece, Mary Trump, had a well-publicized legal war with the former president, but her brother, Fred Trump III, has also added to the unflattering claims. "Every family has their crazy uncle. My Uncle Donald is atomic crazy," Fred III said while appearing on ABC News in July 2024. According to Donald's nephew, the one-time POTUS had done "really horrific things" to him over the years, but they still remained on relatively good terms. "He's my uncle. He's family, and that means a lot," Fred III added.

That ABC appearance was to promote Fred III's book "All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way," where he made multiple damning claims against his uncle. One such instance from the book took place in the early '70s when Fred III remembered Donald becoming incensed after his Cadillac Eldorado had been damaged. Without knowing who the perpetrator was, Donald began using racial slurs to describe those he thought were behind it.

After that excerpt was released, a rep for Donald called it "completely fabricated," but Fred III maintained the veracity of his claim. "He, at time[s], espouses things that people who I believe are racist espouses. That's the best I can answer that question," Fred III told ABC News about his uncle's behavior. Fred III also claimed that Donald had unkind words about his physically disabled son.

Fred Trump III's son, William Trump, was born with a KCNQ2 mutation, leaving him with severe physical disabilities and requiring constant medical care. In his book "All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way," Fred III recalled unkind words Donald Trump had said about William. Fred III wrote that he had met with his uncle and advocates in May 2020 at the Oval Office to discuss helping the physically disabled. Later in the meeting, Fred III spoke directly with Donald, who was apparently unmoved by the presentation. "Those people ... The shape they're in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die," Fred III claimed his uncle said. That was not the only time Donald displayed coldness towards Fred III's son.

A fund had been created by the Trump family to help William receive the medical care required, but Fred wrote in his book about when the fund had started to deplete. He called Donald about the fund. "He doesn't recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida," was Donald's response, as Fred III wrote in his book. 

Years before their confrontation, Fred III and his sister, Mary Trump, sued Donald and other family members to contest their grandfather's will. According to court documents, Donald retaliated by cutting off Fred III and Mary's medical benefits. Later, Donald admitted that the lawsuit had upset him.

As mentioned, Mary Trump and Fred Trump III filed a joint lawsuit against Donald Trump and his siblings for millions they believed were owed to them from Fred Trump's will. At the time of the lawsuit, which was filed in 2000, Mary was outspoken about the legal matter. Their father, Fred Trump Jr., had died in 1981, and they believed that had he been alive, their grandfather's will would have been split more evenly. Mary said the lawsuit was not only about money but fair treatment. "But for both me and my brother, it has much more to do with that our father [Fred Jr.] be recognized," she told the New York Daily News in 2000, according to the Daily Beast.

Mary was upset when the Trumps canceled the health insurance for her and Fred III — as this had an immense impact on Fred III's then-infant son. "For the defendants to threaten the health of a 10-month-old infant in order to try and force a settlement and thereby cover up their own duplicitous conduct is obscene," Mary said in legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Years later, Donald admitted to taking away the health benefits from his niece and nephew. "I was angry because they sued," he told The New York Times in January 2016.

Fred III and Mary wound up winning that lawsuit over their grandfather's will for an amount that Fred III described as a "generous financial settlement."