Donald Trump’s nephew said in a new interview that he heard his uncle use the n-word, but says he does not consider him racist—he just “uses people.”
Appearing Tuesday morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, Fred Trump III also confirmed that he plans to vote for Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election and doesn’t expect any more invitations to Trump golf courses.
Fred Trump III is the son of the former president’s late older brother, Fred Trump II, who died in 1981 at 42. He was appearing on the morning show to promote his book, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, which has made headlines for his claim that he heard his uncle twice use the n-word in an angry tirade after finding his El Dorado convertible slashed in a driveway when he was around 10.
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The former president has denied using the slur, and the Trump campaign called the allegation “total fake news of the highest order.”
Asked by ABC News’ Aaron Katersky about his uncle’s denials, he replied: “OK. He did twice that day.”
Asked if he considered his uncle to be a racist, he replied: “He, at time[s], espouses things that people who I believe are racist espouses. That’s the best I can answer that question.”
Pressed further, he added: “I don’t believe he’s a racist. I just think that he uses people, whether they’re Black or they’re... whoever can help him he will use them. And, you know, call it racist or not, I don’t believe in that. He uses them as props. And when he gets what he needs out of them—votes—he’ll cast them aside.”
Fred Trump, who has an adult son with developmental disabilities, says he used his uncle’s presidency to advocate for people with complex disabilities and visited the White House about a dozen times, including once in May 2020 when he brought a group of disabled people with him.
He said his uncle was “very gracious” with the visitors but shocked him when he sat down for a personal chat.
“And he just came out with, ‘These people, all the expenses. They should just die,’” Fred Trump said. “He’s talking about human beings who have complex issues, and the first thing he could say was they should just die.”
He added: “And within every family—people know this—families are complicated. Every family has their crazy uncle. My Uncle Donald is atomic crazy. And… he has put his mark on the family history.”
