In her latest newsletter entry, Mary L. Trump, niece of former President Donald Trump, issued a scathing rebuke of her uncle, labeling him the “death candidate” in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Her sharp criticism comes in the wake of the Supreme Court‘s recent decision to strike down a federal ban on bump stocks, which Trump banned during his presidency, which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at rates similar to machine guns.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling, penned by Justice Clarence Thomas, determined that bump stocks are not equivalent to machine guns and therefore cannot be banned under the same statute. This decision has been met with outrage from gun safety advocates, who point to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, where the perpetrator used rifles modified with bump stocks to kill 60 people and wound over 400 in just 11 minutes.
Mary Trump shared her horror at the court’s decision, stating, “As horrified as I am by the court’s decision—and I am very horrified—I’m also grateful to them for making it so clear what the election in November is all about: life or death. Friday’s decision—and Donald’s response to it—were powerful reminders that the leader of the Republican is the death candidate.” Newsweek contacted Donald Trump’s spokesperson on Monday via email for a response to the comments.
The former president’s response to the ruling, she argues, is indicative of his stance on gun violence. “Donald said he respects a court decision. Then he bragged about getting the NRA‘s endorsement,” she wrote, highlighting his legislative inaction during the numerous mass shootings that occurred during his presidency, including Sutherland Springs, Parkland, and El Paso.
Beyond his stance on gun rights, Mary Trump claims that her uncle’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrates his disregard for American lives.
In March 2020, as the United States became the epicenter of the global pandemic, President Trump downplayed the escalating national crisis, claiming that the government was powerfully mobilizing and achieving great successes, despite frontline healthcare workers facing gruesome scenes in hospitals and a growing number of hotspots.
Trump faced criticism for minimizing the looming impact of the crisis and for his assessments that conflicted with the reality of the virus’s deadly march. However, he also touted his administration’s efforts in delivering equipment to states and expressed hope that the nightmare would not last “much longer.”
The President’s response to the pandemic was met with mixed reviews, with some praising his administration’s efforts and others, like Mary Trump, criticizing his handling of the crisis. “In excess of 400,000 Americans died of COVID because of his incompetence and malicious inaction,” she stated, pointing to his focus on television ratings and golf outings while thousands of Americans died daily.
Mary Trump has accused the former president of facilitating deaths for personal gain, citing his anti-vaccine platform and his inflammatory rhetoric that she believes has led to violence and extremism. However, Trump and his attorneys have consistently denied that he incited the January 6th riots at the U.S. Capitol.
During his second impeachment trial, Trump’s lawyers argued that his speech on the morning of January 6th did not meet the legal standard of the Brandenburg test to qualify as criminal incitement, and therefore, his words were protected by the First Amendment. They contended that Trump’s speech called for peaceful protest, that he deplored rioters and political violence, and that the violence was pre-planned, thus not a likely result of his speech.
Trump’s defense team also accused Democrats of pursuing the impeachment due to “political hatred” and engaging in “constitutional cancel culture.” They attempted to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the impeachment managers’ evidence by highlighting their reliance on media reports.
“The harsh reality is that Donald is a serious national security threat to the American people,” Mary Trump wrote. “This is a life-or-death election. And my uncle is the death candidate.”
“Let’s choose life, shall we?” she concludes.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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