Who is Marianne Trump Barry, Donald Trump's sister?
During President Trump's tenure, we've gotten to know his children better, especially Ivanka (opens in new tab), but what about everyone else? Despite reeking of one-child syndrome, the reality star-turned-president is actually one of five siblings. Most of the brothers have tried to stay out of the public eye while their older brother is in the White House (open in new tab), but recent events have made that impossible. [A new exposé book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man (opens in new tab), written by Trump's only niece, Mary L. Trump, recently hit bookstores. The release of the book has brought his sister, Maryann Trump Barry, back into the public spotlight, as she has spoken out about her brother in the past. Before we dive into the latest controversy surrounding the Trump family, here is a brief history of Barry's life and where she fits into one of America's most famous families.
The eldest of five siblings, Marianne was born in 1937. She grew up with the rest of her family in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens. She attended college at Mount Holyoke College and received her master's degree from Columbia University in 1962.
She had one child from her first marriage, a son named David William Desmond after his father. They divorced in 1980 after 20 years of marriage. She then married John J. Barry, an attorney, in 1982. When her son entered the sixth grade (opens in new tab), she enrolled in law school at Hofstra University, graduating in 1974.
She told New York (opens in new tab) magazine in 2002 that the reason she did not take over the family business like her brother was to avoid sibling rivalry. 'I knew better as a child than to try to compete with Donald,' she said. 'I wouldn't have won. He had been building models since he was a little boy. Huge buildings."
I know what you're thinking: what? Yeah: In 1983, she was nominated to federal district court by then-President Ronald Reagan. Trump is said to have asked his lawyer Roy Cohn to lobby his White House aides on her behalf (opens in new tab).
"There is no doubt that Donald helped me get to court," she reveals in The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire. I was brilliant, but not that brilliant."
But then-New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean told The New York Times (open in new tab) that everyone recommended Barry without knowing he was a relative of Donald Trump. They wanted a woman, and they asked me if I knew of any good ones," Keane told the NYT. Keane told the NYT.
As for the Democrats who endorsed her, it was in 1999 when President Bill Clinton nominated her to a federal appeals court (open in new tab). Of the nomination, she told the New Jersey Law Journal (opens in new tab), "I was surprised that I was nominated. I am amazed that I was nominated. I think my record as a district court judge was well received, and I am pleased that politics did not take precedence."
Marianne would semi-retire in June 2011 to a "senior position" and would later take an "inactive senior position" in February 2017, just weeks after her brother's inauguration. Two years later, after a NYT article (opens in new tab) that claimed many Trump family members, including Marianne, were "involved in dubious tax schemes in the 1990s," Barry was notified that the Judicial Conduct Board was reviewing the related allegations against her. She resigned a week and a half later, on February 11, 2019.
In terms of her standing as a judge, she is considered a conservative-leaning judge. The Washington Post, citing legal studies (open in new tab), states that she seems to be closer to the middle of the spectrum (open in new tab) with regard to her ideological leanings.
You may have heard of the book Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man (opens in new tab), written by Trump's niece Mary L. Trump. Before the book was published, Mary released multiple audio recordings (opens in new tab) with her aunt, in which Mary talks about her brother.
"All he wants to do is appeal to his base of supporters. He has no philosophy. He has nothing. Nothing. His tweets and his lies are appalling. 'I speak too freely. A change of subject. Lack of preparation. Lies. Oh my god." She even revealed that her brother had someone take the SAT (open in new tab). She continued. It's cheating and this cruelty. Donald is cruel."
President Trump responded to the comments in a statement (open in new tab), saying, "I miss my brother. I miss my brother and will continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees, but the results are clear. Our country will soon be stronger than ever."
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