Fred Trump, who voted for Hillary Clinton, explains why he wrote about his uncle’s ‘deep, horrible cruelty’
A lot of unexpected things have happened in the life of Fred Trump.
The son of Donald J’s handsome late older brother, Fred was disinherited of the family fortune by a technicality in his grandfather’s will. He and his wife, after a normal pregnancy and birth, discovered their third child suffered from severe rare disabilities requiring 24/7 care.
Then Fred watched his uncle become president. And that same uncle, while in office and standing in the White House, suggested disabled Americans like Fred’s son – his own great-nephew, William – should perhaps be left to “just die,” the 61-year-old author claims.
So now Fred’s written a new book outlining all of it. And he’s found himself at the heart of US election 2024 debate – a lightning rod, arguably – as he uses his platform and famous (or infamous) name to advocate for disabled rights, while airing Trump family secrets amid his uncle’s third presidential campaign.
Publishers told Fred that a book solely about William and disability wouldn’t sell. So the Connecticut father of three made the hard decision to open a window into historic Trump circle inner-workings for All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way.
“Did I think I would have a relationship with my family after this? No,” he tells The Independent of the extended Trump clan. “Is it too important for me to let that go by the boards? Yeah.”
Fred has been fighting for disability rights for a quarter-century, since William was born the day after patriarch Frederick Christ Trump’s funeral in June 1999. Fred Jr, the real estate magnate’s passionate oldest son and namesake, had died 18 years beforehand at the age of 42, leaving behind an ex-wife, son and daughter – after spurning the family business for a