Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, has some thoughts on why her uncle can’t just follow medical advice and stay in hospital to rest until he recovers from his COVID-19 infection. Speaking on NPR after her uncle took a needlessly risky joyride out of hospital with Secret Service agents to wave at his supporters and show that he’s totally fine, Mary Trump explained: “That’s why we’re in the horrible place we’re in, because he cannot admit to the weakness of being ill or of other people being ill.” She said both the president and his father, Fred Trump, believed that illness was an “unacceptable” sign of vulnerability. “Which sounds incredibly cruel, but happens to be true,” she said. She recounted how Fred Trump was unable to “tolerate” being near her grandmother, who had osteoporosis, and would leave the room when showed physical signs of being in pain.
