August 23, 2020

Imagine some member of your family talking to you about one of your siblings — talking for 15 hours — and secretly recording it then picking out the worst things you said and publishing it — with audio!

I'm reading "In secretly recorded audio, President Trump’s sister says he has ‘no principles’ and ‘you can’t trust him'" (WaPo).
In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with [Maryanne Trump] Barry in 2018 and 2019. She provided The Post with previously unreleased transcripts and audio excerpts, which include exchanges that are not in her book....
15 hours of secretly recording her aunt!
At one point Barry said to her niece, “It’s the phoniness of it all. It’s the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.”...
How many siblings do you have? How would you like to hear the worst things your sister said about you and have it made public just days after the death of a brother you loved very much.
Barry told how she tried to help her brother get into college. “He was a brat,” Barry said, explaining that “I did his homework for him” and “I drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.” Then Barry dropped what Mary considered a bombshell: “He went to Fordham for one year [actually two years] and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.... SATs or whatever. . . . That’s what I believe,” Barry said. “I even remember the name.”...

In one of the taped conversations, however, Barry revealed how a deep animosity developed between her and her brother.... “He had Roy Cohn call Reagan about needing to appoint a woman as a federal judge in New Jersey,” Barry told Mary. “Because Reagan’s running for reelection, and he was desperate for the female vote.” Then, she said, “I had the nomination,” and Donald Trump never let Barry forget it....

“He once tried to take credit for me,” Barry said of her brother, quoting him as saying, “Where would you be without me?”

Barry said she told her brother: “You say that one more time and I will level you.” She told Mary that it was “the only favor I ever asked for in my whole life.” She said that she deserved the nomination “on my own merit” and that she was subsequently elevated to higher judicial posts without her brother’s intervention.
Yeah, lots of people deserve a federal judgeship on their own merit, but who gets it? We see the grudge there. Siblings all have their various grudges, but do they think they'll be recorded and have the most painful part of their relationship exposed to the world and used for the political purposes of others?

We also learn in this WaPo article that Barry and Trump had this conversation:
One day, Barry said, the president called her and said, “Did you watch Fox News?”
“No,” Barry said she told the president.
“Why not?” he said.
“I don’t watch much television at all,” Barry said she responded.
“What do you do?” the president asked.
“I read,” Barry replied.
“What do you read?” the president said.
“Books,” Barry said.
"What do you read?" — that's verbatim what Polonius asked Hamlet. Hamlet gave a flat answer too: "Words, words, words."


131 comments:

Lucid-Ideas said...

There's a great meme which has as a theme the protest in Tiananmen square. Everyone remembers the lanky chinese dude standing in front of of the chicom type 69s. In it the lone protester is Trump and each tank is one of the forces arrayed against him. One is the media. The other is the intell community etc. Since this year one more 'tank' has been added...that of his own family.

Trump 2020.

Temujin said...

Where it says click for more...I cannot. No more. No more bullshit from WaPo and NYT, both of whom have been not only absent, but part of a coup attempt to remove this President.

You know the phrase 'never again'? Today it refers to a number of things, not the least of which is giving credence to anything approved by the editorial staffs of WaPo or NYT.

This is National Enquirer stuff. This is not fit for anything else. Nor does it have any importance for anything else.

Ken B said...

That last exchange is a tell. If you asked me what I read I would answer the question you are really asking and tell you the kind of thing I mostly read: history, science, mysteries. So she is either deliberately rude and off putting to him, or making the exchange up.

chickelit said...

My wife's lifelong best friend, L, from high school died a few years ago from cancer. After L passed, L's mother got possession of L's phone and proceeded to study years worth of text messages, some of which discussed the mother. The mother contacted my wife and let her know how disappointed and hurt she felt.

So imagine someone in the family mining your computer or smart phone after you die.

MayBee said...

Why didn't Mary just ask her aunt if she could record her for her book?

Sebastian said...

"Then, she said, “I had the nomination,” and Donald Trump never let Barry forget it"

Hell hath no fury like a woman helped.

So, who comes out looking better from the vindictive bitching and immoral recording affair?

Methinks, Donald. Can you imagine having to deal with relatives like that?

wendybar said...

The Media is so thrilled by this, but totally ignored Malik Obama and what he has to say about his brother. So YAWNNNNNN!!!

Mark said...

This is simply straight out political spying.

Meanwhile, Kamalla Harris made it her priority to prosecute and imprison a journalist who used undercover techniques to expose Planned Parenthood's criminal activities, which is a legitimate journalistic practice.

Ken B said...

America has become a Jerry Springer struggle session.

Bob Boyd said...

That’s what I believe,” Barry said.

So she doesn't have direct personal knowledge.

I even remember the name.

Will Barry spill it? Will that person confirm the story?
Will that person turn out to also have marched as one of the fake Nazis at Charlottesville?

Michael K said...

then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.... SATs or whatever. . . . That’s what I believe,” Barry said.

Boy, the malice really jumps out. She resents his reminding her of his aid in getting that judgeship.

John P Marquand, in one of his novels, said a true thing. "There is always a lot of hate in a well regulated family."

Mary Beth said...

"What do you read?" makes me think of Katie Couric asking Sarah Palin what newspapers she reads. Everyone made fun of her for not listing specific papers. That was one of the first signs that I remember that showed the old media didn't understand how people got news on the internet.

I'm also a book reader. I'm happy sitting around reading. People that I know who are not book readers are ones that are out doing things. This is good when those things are productive, but for some reason people tend to think non-book readers are stupid so they don't associate them with doing useful things. Not realizing there are different skills, interests, and abilities (and there are some you can't get through reading books) is what's stupid to me.

mezzrow said...

How would you like to hear the worst things your sister said about you and have it made public just days after the death of a brother you loved very much.

This is to presume that the "you" is a human being accorded the rights and dignity of a human.

This has been and will be withheld from the subject of these recordings. In the eyes of the publisher of these words, there is no punishment sufficient to compensate for the evil deeds of this creature. More to come, to be sure.

Let this be a lesson for any who would follow his example.

rcocean said...

It seems her niece is the one without principles. BTW, people always want to blame the parents for how their kids turned out, but as every parent, you can only do so much. Some children are just bad. Like her niece.

Big Mike said...

Yeah, lots of people deserve a federal judgeship on their own merit, but who gets it?

And many more people who think they deserve a federal judgeship but don’t, yet get it anyway.

Fernandinande said...

15 hours of secretly recording her aunt!

Mary Trump has no principles and you can’t trust her.

Perhaps she's trying to claim they share a genetic condition?

Mary Beth said...

New York is a single party consent state, but even if it were legal, it wasn't ethical. She must really hate that part of the family. Unless she told her aunt that she was writing the book, this is such a violation of trust, I don't see how anyone in the family would be willing to talk to her again. For that matter, I don't see how business associates or clients would trust her either. Maybe they will, if they are anti-Donald too, but they shouldn't ignore that it was her aunt that she really betrayed.

Howard said...

Althouse Jagger's new hit song:
Empathy for the Devil

Michael K said...

I'm also a book reader. I'm happy sitting around reading. People that I know who are not book readers are ones that are out doing things. This is good when those things are productive

When I was a kid, my father's favorite comment was "Get your nose out of that book !"

Happy memories.

Big Mike said...

I am awfully glad she’s retired. I can picture her ruling from the bench not based on the law, but on how she can best slap down her brother.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Eleanor Roosevelt quote which I wish I lived by : "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Imagine if the voters focused on this too- Trump would win by 20 pts.

Ann Althouse said...

If you're really a book reader and not just a person who claims to read books and somebody asks you "What do you read?" then — unless you're antagonistic to them for some reason — you start naming authors and book titles! You think you might get that person you're talking to to love reading the way you do.

Frankly, I think that a federal judge has to read a lot of briefs and drafts of opinions and when asked "What do you read?" would honestly answer, "I'm constantly reading things I have to read for my job. It's endless!" To say "Books" suggests that you don't want to talk about the kind of things you're reading.

Sam L. said...

This is why I call the WaPoo the WaPoo.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Hey now that school records are a thing of public interests, let's subpoena Obama's school records!

Martha said...

Resentment and jealousy
Not a good look for the older sister.
MaryAnne Trump Barry did not attend Robert Trump’s White House funeral on Friday.
According to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows she was invited.

stevew said...

There is cruelty in that family but little direct evidence that Donald is its perpetrator.

"That's what I believe", the worst about someone, not the best.

Ralph L said...

If he'd gone to Fordham 2 years, why would he take the SAT to transfer?

My step-monster frequently complained about her sister running up huge credit card debt behind her husband's back, then in 2010, Dad found out she'd done the same thing.

Sebastian said...

"To say "Books" suggests that you don't want to talk about the kind of things you're reading.'

Or, since the briefs etc. are obvious and no judge would take "what do you read" as asking about job-related reading, it suggests you are a poseur who's full of it.

Professional Lady said...

I used to read a lot of books. Then I went to law school and had to read so much for school that my recreational reading tapered off. During law school, I worked as a research assistant for a county trial court. I had to read so many truly crappy briefs that I began to feel sorry for judges. Sometimes it was hard to believe the lawyers had graduated from high school let alone law school. You wouldn't get much of that type of garbage in federal court. I never got back to the level of recreational reading that I did before law school. Now I mostly listen to audiobooks.

Sydney said...

Something like this happened to me once. A “friend” called me and lured me into gossiping about another friend, then revealed the friend was also on the phone. We were twelve.

iowan2 said...

My wife goes off on her family, with me. 99% of what she says she doesn't mean. She vents, refocuses moves on. The true degenerate here is the person doing the secret recording. The one worse than the degenerate is the person making SELECTED EDITED passages public. President Tromp comes away sane.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I find it hard to imagine because not of my family really care what I think about things. I can, however, imagine the national media shit fit that would ensue if someone surreptitiously recorded private conversations with Hillary! or B. Hussein Obama and then released the recordings to the general public.

Krumhorn said...

This is just more evidence...as if any were necessary at this point.....that the lefties are well and truly nasty little shits. As the remarkable Ed Koch used to say, “this is the silly season”. He was a Dem but I loved that guy.

- Krumhorn

-

traditionalguy said...

OK, Daddy always loved Donald more than Maryanne. But Donald earned his office after earning his Manhattan real estate chops the hard way.. Mary Ann was gifted her political appointment and thereafter thought a lifetime tenure made her into a virtuous sibling. Little Donnie cannot get no respect.

Rory said...

Everything comes back to the same truth: the DNC promoted Trump in the 2016 primaries. Anything negative about Trump is on them. Biden's nomination is a full proof that the Dems have done nothing to reform themselves.

Wince said...

Althouse said...
To say "Books" suggests that you don't want to talk about the kind of things you're reading.

Ground Beef Control: Do you read me? Over.

Pastor Rod Flash: I read only good books. Over.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

15 hours of secretly recording her aunt!

Yeah - that's not weird at all.
/

Skeptical Voter said...

Orange Man Bad---I prefer not to think of him that way although I have friends who do--like his moronoic predecessor Obama apparently watches a lot of TV. So he's surprised when his sister says she doesn't.

Brothers and sisters do not always have idyllic relationships---and things can and do get snippy. But as a book reader--and reading a lot more in the time of Governor Newsom's lockdowns, if asked what I read, I'd tell you the general subjects I read and maybe the current book or author.

But I get the exchange between the two siblings in a time of tension. What I don't get is the nasty little niece secretly recording 15 hours of conversation with her aunt. Guess she won't get an invite to the next family dinner.

wild chicken said...

I didn't know SAT was such a thing back then. Not at my school anyway.

A NY thing?

wild chicken said...

"imagine someone in the family mining your computer or smart phone after you die."

They would find nothing. Imagine being so stupid as to put your judgment of family members into text.

Howard said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...

If you're really a book reader and not just a person who claims to read books and somebody asks you "What do you read?" then — unless you're antagonistic to them for some reason — you start naming authors and book titles! You think you might get that person you're talking to to love reading the way you do.

Frankly, I think that a federal judge has to read a lot of briefs and drafts of opinions and when asked "What do you read?" would honestly answer, "I'm constantly reading things I have to read for my job. It's endless!" To say "Books" suggests that you don't want to talk about the kind of things you're reading.


Fantastic Point, Professor! Splitting hairs between the lines is a real talent. This proves that 1) the tapes are fake or 2) the judge is a liar. Either way, Soros is behind it, no doubt.

Bay Area Guy said...

DJT has been duly elected President for 4 years. Perhaps, the WaPost would like to evaluate his policies that have affected 330 Million people during these 4 years.

Nobody cares about a disgruntled niece trying to make a buck by gossiping about her family.

Inga said...

The truth does eventually come out. It’s fitting that it was from Trump’s own sister, even though she didn’t know it would be published.

Gk1 said...

"America has become a Jerry Springer struggle session." Kenb

Now that's a thread winner Kenb

Clyde said...

What a despicable woman!

Birkel said...

The niece (?) seems to come out of this very badly.
Who cares about her?

If a president were the cruelest person on the planet in private but their policies worked for the broadest swath of Americans, I would not care about the private cruelty.
If a person were the sweetest, nicest person on the earth but their policies would impoverish Americans, I would not want them in charge of anything.

I want policies that work.

Inga said...

Maybe Trump’s sister didn’t want to waste any time telling her brother what books she reads because she knew he wouldn’t read any of the books she would name anyway. The exchange sounds as if she can barely stand speaking to Trump.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Lefties like to spy on you in case they need to ruin you

Winston and Julia in the woods

Nothing is 'off-limits' in this era of "by any means necessary"

Roughcoat said...

Time to exercise the "Fredo Option" on that sibling.

Never go against the family. Never ever.

Lucien said...

A sad admission, but I tend to read books through to the end even when I find them disappointing and repetitive (but I am working on it). So I imagine that if one had the temperament or discipline to read just until one got the point of a book and then move on, one could make more effective use of one’s time. That could be useful in a President. Maybe one could just read summaries of books’ main ideas.

urpower said...

Barry is the judge who doesn't know she's being interviewed for a book by a niece who needs dirt. She needed that extra hit of influence fo sho. Then complains about it for years. And when her private comments are used publicly, doesn't speak up. A coven of witches.

Martin said...

Trump is certainly no paragon, but he doesn't claim to be.

All the people attacking him with stuff like this are lower than pond scum.

Last week my wife and I made what for us was a gnereous contribution to his campaign, resolved that it would be the only contribution we would make. Seing stuff like this, I think we will give more.

Sally said...

I don't think Penn or any other college would have requested current SAT scores from an incoming transfer upperclassman. Obviously, Trump was not admitted as a freshman but was invited to try again after he had a transcript from a reputable university.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

What I recall is a virtual news blackout regarding Obama’s family. Certainly no secret recordings.

Tomcc said...

OTOH- "Books" could also be a sarcastic response to someone who doesn't read; as in: "books, ya ever heard of them?"

Joe Smith said...

You do know that there are secret Biden tapes, don't you?

Fifteen hours of 'Where's my pudding? You told me I could have pudding!'

Those are actually the highlights. The WP and NYT declined to publish.

But as Wendybar alludes to, they are hot on the story from Obabma's brother about how Barack was part of the black, gay Chicago bath-house scene, and how he married a tranny.

Once again, media are whores.

AllenS said...

It doesn't matter what anyone says about Trump any more. As I look and drive around, there are more and more Trump signs, some quite large, and there are the trucks with their large Trump 2020 flags and American flags waiving in the breeze as they roll down the road.

bagoh20 said...

If it's true, it doesn't speak well for homework and SAT's in terms of your eventual success.

It could be argued that Donald Trump is the most accomplished or successful man alive. He's one of the richest, and not through one lucky and extremely profitable endeavor like many of today's rich, but through a lifetime of fights with failures and setbacks that had to be overcome again and again. Against all odds and a endless array of powerful enemies, he managed to become the most powerful person on earth, and the most famous in his lifetime. He been successful in multiple arenas with very tough competition. No wonder the Left hates him.

Assuming wealth, power and fame are good measures of success, tell me who is more successful in our world.

pm317 said...

{this comment is only for Prof. Althouse} Ann, I have occasionally stopped by to see if there is a change but no you have gone further further into the deep end. Forget Democrats, but look around you about what is going on in this country under trump? DC and Portland were like a mini Belarus with trump's thugs doing unimaginable stuff to protesters. Everyone of his tweets is an assault on democracy and shows his utter ignorance about everything, everything! Most every agency in the government is in shambles, run by corrupt and lawless idiots. I am not even certain that we will have a normal election and that there will be a peaceful transition of powers. We have a pandemic where common sense solutions to stop community spread for a disease spread through respiratory means are made anathema by the ignorant head of state and his enablers. You being a law professor not recognizing what is happening everywhere is deeply, deeply disappointing. Shame on me for having placed my trust in you at some point.

The country is in trouble. In the 1970s, India went through something very close to becoming an autocratic state. Then PM Indira Gandhi instituted emergency rule and the country went through unimaginable trouble for a number of years and then she relented and called for elections. You know what happened next, she was routed and thrown out. I still marvel at how a fledgling and chaotic democracy averted that disaster. Regular everyday people recognized the danger of their times. To Gandhi's credit, she didn't try to cheat her way to office like the present day autocrats. Here we are, a wealthy country with high literacy and sophistication, and norms and traditions to boot that scream honor code and doing the right thing (yeah, I may be exaggerating but things were never this bad) and to see everything trump has done in the last 4 years and not recognizing the peril we are in is simply mind boggling to me, especially from someone like you.

Please email me back... give me some indication that you understand what is happening. I would like it if you don't publish this comment because I don't think I can reach any of your readers.

The Godfather said...

“He went to Fordham for one year [actually two years] and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.... SATs or whatever. . . . That’s what I believe,” Barry said. “I even remember the name.” ABC New highlighted this claim this morning. I call BS. Prove to me that Penn required another SAT or "whatever" of transfer students -- from Fordham! for gosh sakes. (Is the name she "remembers" "Mike Ross", the character from "Suits" who took exams for people?)

Not Sure said...

I don't understand this quote, but it's fun to think about

“I drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.”

I'm picturing this 20-something gal driving from NYU to Columbia to CCNY to Fordam, with the top down on her top down on her T-bird, dragging her wiseass kid brother into one admissions office after another for the two-way sales pitch, on one glorious summer day when she could've gone to the Hampton with her friends. "If I have to, I'll pay that dorky Hardin kid who Donald keeps mocking to take the SAT for him, so he can get into Penn and out of my goddam life."

EH said...

She probably reads romances and doesn't want to admit it.

Michael K said...

I would like it if you don't publish this comment because I don't think I can reach any of your readers.

Yes, I would agree. Publishing nonsense by trolls with blank profiles is a waste of pixels.

Amadeus 48 said...

Sigh.
Mary Trump: moral midget.
Marianne Trump Barry: I thought this was just a catty session with my niece. This was in 2013. The little bitch recorded it?
Donald Trump: It sounds like the judge had a few too many drinkie-poos. That’s why I never touch the stuff. You should hear what I say about her, and I’m sober!

This is the Patty Davis/Ron Reagan school of journalism. Daddy issues on the march!

Professional Lady said...

I have to read so much professionally that I don't finish any books or movies that aren't worth it. I can even get near the end of a book or movie and decide at that point that it's not worth my time. Life is too short.

n.n said...

Trump is an extraordinary man to survive and prosper in that climate, and he made it in NYC, too. Impressive.

Dr Weevil said...

pm317 thinks the problem in Portland and Seattle is that "[T]rump's thugs" are "doing unimaginable stuff to protesters"? You mean like blinding them for life by aiming green lasers at their eyes? Trapping them in surrounded buildings and then repeatedly setting fire to the buildings to try to burn them to death en masse? Throwing cinder blocks and bottles of urine at them? Firing mortars and fireworks at them? Kicking them in the head when they have committed no crime? No, that's what the "protesters" are doing to the police and federal agents and members of the general public, which means that they are not protesters but homicidal insurrectionists, rioters, all-around criminals, and, yes, thugs. It also means that pm317 is a moron, or a liar, or a lunatic, or some combination of those things.

Michael K said...

Martha said...
Resentment and jealousy
Not a good look for the older sister.
MaryAnne Trump Barry did not attend Robert Trump’s White House funeral on Friday.
According to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows she was invited.


Yes, this is pretty nasty stuff. I have always thought lefties were more into this nastiness, Inga for example, but maybe it is more common in both ideologies.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Any gaps in the Trump tapes?

n.n said...

Kamalla Harris made it her priority to prosecute and imprison a journalist who used undercover techniques to expose Planned Parenthood's criminal activities

The Left like their wicked solutions. That said, the tell-tale hearts beat ever louder.

bagoh20 said...

Even if everything she says is true, so what. It's been 50 years since then, and we all know everything about Trump. He's been in the public spotlight most of his life, maybe the most thoroughly investigated, interviewed, and reported on person alive. He's already had the job for four years, so what does this information tell us that matters to our decision in November.

We also know his opponent pretty damned well after 47 years in office, and multiple runs for President. We know he was near the bottom of his class in school and used plagiarism liberally throughout his career. When is comes to Presidential races, Trump has never lost, despite being the widely discounted underdog, and Biden has never won despite his stellar resume doing nothing but collecting government checks. One man has paid many times his fair share in taxes and the other has taken many times his fair share.

Drago said...

Inga: "Maybe Trump’s sister didn’t want to waste any time telling her brother what books she reads because she knew he wouldn’t read any of the books she would name anyway. The exchange sounds as if she can barely stand speaking to Trump."

Oooh. I see Inga is very angry that readering jumped into the primary Althouse lefty mindreader role and Inga wants that title back!

Good luck Inga. For what its worth, when it comes to mindreading delusions my money will always be on you.

Drago said...

Inga: "The truth does eventually come out."

Carter Page, russian spy or no?

bagoh20 said...

If Trump is responsible for all the messes in cities and states run top to bottom by Democrats, then he truly is too powerful to resist. He's so powerful that he also prevents similar disasters in Republican and moderate run areas. Some kind of magical powers if you ask me, and we want that kind of power in the top office. Magic powers for America! The wizard versus the unicorn riders.

Drago said...

Ralph L: "If he'd gone to Fordham 2 years, why would he take the SAT to transfer?"

He wouldn't.

That's the tell.

effinayright said...

Mary Beth said:

I'm also a book reader. I'm happy sitting around reading. People that I know who are not book readers are ones that are out doing things. This is good when those things are productive, but for some reason people tend to think non-book readers are stupid so they don't associate them with doing useful things. Not realizing there are different skills, interests, and abilities (and there are some you can't get through reading books) is what's stupid to me.

**************
I was a young know-it-all smart ass when I came across this quote by Will Rogers:

"We're all ignorant---only on different subjects."

For me it was an epiphany, and a very humbling one at that.

(a sampler my wife made for me bearing that quote hangs on the wall in our bedroom)

effinayright said...

Mary Beth said:

I'm also a book reader. I'm happy sitting around reading. People that I know who are not book readers are ones that are out doing things. This is good when those things are productive, but for some reason people tend to think non-book readers are stupid so they don't associate them with doing useful things. Not realizing there are different skills, interests, and abilities (and there are some you can't get through reading books) is what's stupid to me.

**************
I was a young know-it-all smart ass when I came across this quote by Will Rogers:

"We're all ignorant---only on different subjects."

For me it was an epiphany, and a very humbling one at that.

(a sampler my wife made for me bearing that quote hangs on the wall in our bedroom)

bagoh20 said...

I rarely read books anymore. I'm completely biased to non-fiction, and I get the stuff I'm after much more efficiently though reading the internet. Web surfing can be like you writing your own book. You read a chapter and that will lead you to another chapter and so on. You can also instantly get the rebuttal to the point you are reading instead of being forced to swallow the whole thesis first. I would read more books if I wasn't so busy, but books by design are stories that need told with an intro, a middle and an end. While enjoyable, I ain't got the time.

iowan2 said...

The point of any book is to keep me entertained. If I bail in the middle, the author failed, not me.

doctrev said...

pm317 said...
To Gandhi's credit, she didn't try to cheat her way to office like the present day autocrats.

8/23/20, 11:23 AM

Your average 1970's Indian peasant would laugh at you, because they're obviously more sophisticated about the world than you are.

As for Michael and Shoshana Kranish, I wonder what would happen if people of their type (journalists) invested half this much effort into investigating international pedophile cabals? Might these cabals be far less able to operate? Ah well, probably interferes with their real business model. It's absolutely bizarre, if unsurprising, that these good Christian reporters think that encouraging a woman to act as a Stasi agent against her aunt will somehow burnish her credibility. They have all the familial loyalty that Jacob offered Esau, and it's a real weakness that their enemies will eventually exploit.

Regardless, I don't imagine Trump loses even a minute of sleep over it. He had a father and mother who genuinely loved him- unlike Barack Obama and Kamala Harris. Maybe their dads realized how rotten they were even as children? Could be, could be. Maybe the Kranishes of the world could investigate that story.

Mark said...

You do know that there are secret Biden tapes, don't you?

I know that there are public video recordings of Biden bragging about abusing his office and using taxpayers' money to extort personal/family favors from a foreign leader.

Dems don't care though.

Tomcc said...

pm317: "... I don't think I can reach any of your readers."
What? Our souls aren't worth saving?!!

buwaya said...

"I'm picturing this 20-something gal driving from NYU to Columbia to CCNY to Fordam, with the top down on her top down on her T-bird, dragging her wiseass kid brother into one admissions office after another"

She is 9 years older. So she would have been a 28-30 year old.

elkh1 said...

Which politician isn't an SOB, a sociopath? The only fight is which SOB to gain power, yours or mine.

Trump is an SOB. So is Biden. What you see is what you get from SOB Trump. But you never know what you'll get from the puppet masters pulling SOB Biden's strings.

John henry said...

Sally said...

Obviously, Trump was not admitted as a freshman but was invited to try again after he had a transcript from a reputable university.

Is there any evidence he applied to Penn as a HS senior? Or before Fordham?

Or are you just making shit up?

John Henry

cronus titan said...

This may be simple: Mary Trump's father, Fred, died young and has serious alcohol issues. It is common for immediate family members to seek out someone to blame. Mary Trump has decided her uncle is responsible for her father's early death from alcoholism. I have seen family members blame other family members when someone passes of cancer. This is no different.

It is also no surprise that over 15 hours of recording conversation, a sibling made several nasty comments about another sibling. Imagine if everything you said over years was recorded -- all of us will have said things we would be embarrassed by and deeply regret. President Rump has the right reaction -- ignore this, it is a stupid waste of time.

hstad said...

Several observations 1) "...MaryAnne Trump Barry did not attend Robert Trump’s White House funeral...she was invited..." - did she also have it in for her younger brother? 2) Can't get into Fordham University without SATs; 3) Family talks are always crazy out of jealousy, envy, etc., that's what siblings do in a large family. But this niece clearly is acting out for some other reason. Usually a small family slight will do it every time. What a piece of work!

Michael K said...

I usually have three books going at the same time. When I was busy in practice I read less but had much less time. I read, long ago maybe by Kennedy, that presidents do their reading before they ever get to office and there is no time to do so while in office. I think that is true.

I'm reading a biography of Adam Smith right now and it makes the point that he learned a great deal in Glasgow from the rich merchants of the city, which was a huge tobacco import site. They, unusually for the time, spent time with the young scholar and taught him the principles that he later made famous.

Most of what we see with Trump is the distilled wisdom of 50 years in commerce and the same length of time dealing with the most corrupt politicians on earth, those of New York City. Maybe Chicago is more corrupt but at a lower scale.

John henry said...



Several people have questioned why a 2nd yr student at a reputable U like Fordham would need a SAT. Me too. In the early 90s when my kids were looking at college pretty much every university, including Princeton, would accept almost anyone who had completed a year or two of college with decent grades.

My son was thinking of Princeton and interviewed with a local alumni as part of the process.

This guy, a friend of mine, told him he could get in but could save me some money by going to upr locally, getting a bunch of basic courses out of the way, then transferring. Assuming decent grades, it was automatic.

At the time, based on all we read about admissions, this was common as a way to save money as well as ease the admission process. Even community College was enough.

So bullshit on the whole story. Let's hear the unedited tape.

John Henry

jim said...

Maybe the niece is the one with principles.

John henry said...

It always comes back to Seinfeld, doesn't it?

"Books, Jerry. Books" - Elaine

Perfectly legitimate question. I ask it from time to time if some says they like to read I think it natural to ask "yeah?what do you read?" hoping to get a conversation going about favorite/recent books authors, genres etc.

The answer seems a bit snippy out of context. Could have equally been perfectly congenial depending on context.

John Henry

Anonymous said...

people tend to think non-book readers are stupid

Joe Rogan on why a TV show is better than books...

Nichevo said...


doctrev said...
pm317 said...
To Gandhi's credit, she didn't try to cheat her way to office like the present day autocrats.

8/23/20, 11:23 AM

Your average 1970's Indian peasant would laugh at you, because they're obviously more sophisticated about the world than you are.


I think she is a 1970s Indian peasant, IIRC (she hasn't posted in a long while). She writes like a foreigner, too.

hstad said...


Blogger pm317 said...
"... give me some indication that you understand what is happening. 8/23/20, 11:23 AM..."

After reading your comments, I know you don't understand what's happening. Mr. Trump was elected because of people like you, arrogant, snobs, who know better.... Mr. Trump's election is precisely because of you - cause Mr. Trump talks to those forgotten people. You seem to have forgotten that - or view that your 'Tribe' is the correct 'Tribe'- an 'offensive attitude of superiority'.

gadfly said...

Imagine someone stealing $20 million dollars from you and then having to endure 10 years of court hearings and appeals to finally win a settlement.

But the painful case of Freddy Trump, eight years his brother’s senior and once the heir apparent to their father’s real estate empire, also serves as an example of the dangers of failing to conform in a family dominated by a driven, perfectionist patriarch and an aggressive younger brother.

Then [in 1999] came the unveiling of [patriarch] Fred Sr.’s will, which Donald had helped draft. It divided the bulk of the inheritance, at least $20 million, among his children and their descendants, “other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.”

Freddy’s children [Fred II and Mary, named for their grandparents] sued, claiming that an earlier version of the will had entitled them to their father’s share of the estate, but that Donald and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia, to cut them out.

A week later, Mr. Trump retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits critical to his nephew’s infant child [who suffered from cerebral palsy and the Trump family had previously promised to take care of the medical bills].

Mary and Fred III's inheritance was settled privately in 2000 [after a decade!] and Trump told The Washington Post last year [before the book] “it worked out well, and we all get along”.

But when it became clear that her uncle had won the presidency [back on 2016], she [Mary] took to Twitter. “Worst night of my life,” she wrote at least 12 times in tweets that have been deleted recently. She wrote that “We should be judged harshly. . . . I grieve for our country.”

mikee said...

Following the court petitions we had to file to protect my wife's mother from the other two rapacious, uncaring offspring, we record all calls. Otherwise, sister-in-law would be making shit up for her lawyer, like she did over the petitions.

Without trust, verification is necessary. We're pretty sure sis is recording too, as she asks lots of attempt-to-incriminate questions of my wife. We haven't told sister-in-law we're recording, but we get a lot of laffs out of replays.

n.n said...

It always comes back to Seinfeld, doesn't it?

The hitchhiker's guide to Earth. Serenity now!

MadisonMan said...

DC and Portland were like a mini Belarus with trump's thugs doing unimaginable stuff to protesters.
What happened after the Federal Troops left. Did you notice how the violence continued? What does that suggest?

stevew said...

I like to read books. Currently I am reading "The Splendid and the Vile" about Churchill by Erik Larson. It's quite interesting.

As someone above said, maybe MayBee, when I complete a book I do not have a sense of accomplishment. Book reading is entertainment to me, rather like watching a movie or documentary. This means that my book reading is spread out; I often have several going at once, and no one, especially my librarian sister-in-law and bookworm sister, would call me a "reader". For me a sense of accomplishment comes from producing something rather than consuming. I'm not judging, just saying how it works for me.

The answer given, "I read books", is 100% intended as sarcasm and probably an insult.

Amadeus 48 said...

Another observation. Judge Trump says her brother tried to get her appointed to the federal bench and then never lets her forget it. Who could be surprised at that? That’s Trump. Maybe that’s her. Maybe she never said thank you.

Consider a counterfactual: Trump, knowing that she wants to be a federal judge, pulls strings to be sure that she is never appointed. That would be a Hollywood storyline about a psychopath. That’s not Trump.

Trump is the first guy. He tried successfully to get her on the bench. Maybe in 1999, he even helped her with Clinton.

I am glad they are publishing this nonsense. This is hardening my resolve to vote for Trump.

GingerBeer said...

How AWFL do you have to be to make Trump look sympathetic?

Michael K said...

This guy, a friend of mine, told him he could get in but could save me some money by going to upr locally, getting a bunch of basic courses out of the way, then transferring. Assuming decent grades, it was automatic.

At the time, based on all we read about admissions, this was common as a way to save money as well as ease the admission process. Even community College was enough.


My middle daughter went to a local JC for two years, transferred to UCLA and graduated with a BS and MLS.

My youngest insisted on going to U of A. She didn't want to go to JC with girls she knew from HS. I'm still paying off the tuition. She at least graduated 10 years ago.

gadfly said...

@John henry said...

Several people have questioned why a 2nd yr student at a reputable U like Fordham would need a SAT. Me too. In the early 90s when my kids were looking at college pretty much every university, including Princeton, would accept almost anyone who had completed a year or two of college with decent grades.

You answered your own question, since decent grades are required in order to be considered for transfer to Penn's Wharton School without question. Of course, the fact that Penn's admissions officer spent many hours in the Trump family's Jamaica manse visiting with Freddy Trump didn't hurt. As for an SAT, high school juniors and seniors routinely took the test back when Trump was at the NY Military Academy in order to gain college enrollment.

It was a 1973 article in the New York Times that said Trump graduated “first in his class” at Wharton. However, it would later become clear that Trump’s name was not among top honorees at his commencement. Nor was he on the dean’s list his senior year, meaning he was not among the top 56 students in his graduating class of 366.

So Trump obviously lies and cheats.

gadfly said...

@John henry said...

Several people have questioned why a 2nd yr student at a reputable U like Fordham would need a SAT. Me too. In the early 90s when my kids were looking at college pretty much every university, including Princeton, would accept almost anyone who had completed a year or two of college with decent grades.

You answered your own question, since decent grades are required in order to be considered for transfer to Penn's Wharton School without question. Of course, the fact that Penn's admissions officer spent many hours in the Trump family's Jamaica manse visiting with Freddy Trump didn't hurt. As for an SAT, high school juniors and seniors routinely took the test back when Trump was at the NY Military Academy in order to gain college enrollment.

It was a 1973 article in the New York Times that said Trump graduated “first in his class” at Wharton. However, it would later become clear that Trump’s name was not among top honorees at his commencement. Nor was he on the dean’s list his senior year, meaning he was not among the top 56 students in his graduating class of 366.

So Trump obviously lies and cheats.

Mary Beth said...

Freddy’s children [Fred II and Mary, named for their grandparents] sued, claiming that an earlier version of the will had entitled them to their father’s share of the estate, but that Donald and his siblings had used “undue influence” over their grandfather, who had dementia, to cut them out.

If they believed that the man had dementia, shouldn't the lawsuit have been against the lawyer who helped with the new will?

Gunner said...

Mary Trump is a garbage person. Conservative relatives of liberal politicians do not behave like this.

Drago said...

gadfly: "You answered your own question, since decent grades are required in order to be considered for transfer to Penn's Wharton School without question."

Your ignorance, as always, is showing. Trump obtained his undergraduate BS degree in Economics thru the Penn/Wharton School of Business. Trump did not pursue an MBA from Wharton so Trump would not have needed to take the GMAT for entry.

After having attending Fordham for several years his performance there as an undergrad would have mattered more for acceptance into Penn as a transfer for an undergraduate degree than any SAT taken a few years earlier.

dreams said...

"Why didn't Mary just ask her aunt if she could record her for her book?"

Because obviously her aunt would be less candid.

doctrev said...

Drago said...

Your ignorance, as always, is showing. Trump obtained his undergraduate BS degree in Economics thru the Penn/Wharton School of Business. Trump did not pursue an MBA from Wharton so Trump would not have needed to take the GMAT for entry.

After having attending Fordham for several years his performance there as an undergrad would have mattered more for acceptance into Penn as a transfer for an undergraduate degree than any SAT taken a few years earlier.

8/23/20, 3:03 PM

It's amazing that the simplest points can explode entire left-wing narratives.

dreams said...

I've read a lot of books but it's harder to read books as I've aged, harder to see the words. I read mostly on the internet now.

Krumhorn said...

The comment from PM begging our hostess to refrain from publishing it is a perfect example of the unshakable certainty that the deplorables are evil fascists even if we don’t know it ourselves. The dead give-away is the frothing over-the-top emotionality of the comment stated in terms of unyielding absolutes. I picture the writer with the dead eyes of a shark mindlessly ripping through the flesh of some imagined prey as the comment was written.

These are not people we ever want to see in positions of power.

- Krumhorn

Michael K said...

gadfly is getting close to Inga territory. Get help, gadfly!

Michael K said...

Currently I am reading "The Splendid and the Vile" about Churchill by Erik Larson. It's quite interesting.

I read it too. I am now reading a biography of Adam Smith by Conservative MP, Jesse Norman. He also has a biography of Edmund Burke. Both are excellent. Larson's book about the Lusitania is also good.

John henry said...

 dreams said...

I've read a lot of books but it's harder to read books as I've aged, harder to see the words. I read mostly on the internet now.

Try reading on a tablet or Kindle (but only Kindle formatted books)

Much easier on the eyes. You can adjust font, size, background (I'm partial to white on black) and width.

I've been reading a couple books a week for 60 years. Never thought I'd like kindle til my son gave me one. Now when I try to read a legacy book it drives me batty. Once I've found what I need, I put it away.

Just finished a history of steam. Just started a book on how to market on LinkedIn.

Currently 25 percent into a bio of Admiral King (I'm up to pearl harbor)

All three excellent.

John Henry

buwaya said...

Huh. We paid the kids UC tuition and fees as it was billed.
We had two simultaneously in for a few years there.

Debt is bad.

buwaya said...

It is disrespectful to the family and clan to disparage a relative who has achieved a great honor. In the ancient Roman tradition those who attained the consulate (the chief executive office of their system) were the esteemed elders and ancestors of the family, with their death-masks preserved in their family shrine.

And so it is with Trump. Or it should be. That clan "now belongs to the ages", they are written indelibly into history. It is a solemn thing, a fearful thing, to think that a hundred generations or more will at least sometimes remember you. The US in its Imperium is, after all, at least as glorious and awesome, as memorable as Rome.

It seems absurd to behave with such a short-term outlook, to be filled with such pettiness, when your words and acts are certain to be remembered and judged by all human posterity.

Narayanan said...

Ken B said...
America has become a Jerry Springer struggle session.
------------===============
I have been binge watching Kitchen Nightmare - Gordon Ramsay
I see Trump in USA Politics Nightmare with the restaurant management (Deep State)

Narayanan said...

is it crime to tape record a federal judge without consent and knowledge?

Narayanan said...

will SDNY pursue the matter?

Narayanan said...

Michael K said...
I'm also a book reader. I'm happy sitting around reading. People that I know who are not book readers are ones that are out doing things. This is good when those things are productive

When I was a kid, my father's favorite comment was "Get your nose out of that book !"

Happy memories.
------------============
i did not know nose can be used for bookmark!

Narayanan said...

I'm Full of Soup said...
Eleanor Roosevelt quote which I wish I lived by : "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."
------------=============
and deplorables discuss how "Great" minds discussing ideas can destroy lives of people.

Michael K said...

It seems absurd to behave with such a short-term outlook, to be filled with such pettiness, when your words and acts are certain to be remembered and judged by all human posterity.

I have to assume there is a payday associated with this behavior. I'm sure there is with George Conway. The Trump family just seem jealous, the niece anyway. The sister might be embarrassed to see that comment.

All rules of society seem to be collapsing.

todd galle said...

I'm with Professional Woman far above:
I work at an historic site, and reading in basically my current task, as our site is closed. I'm to develop content for Volunteers, Members, and the General Public to keep them interested in the site in the hope that they will return and continue volunteering after this whole things pass. I currently have between 8-10 books open, and twice as many journal articles. Finding a topic that might be interesting to a varied audience can't be handled with a single source. I've probably read a quarter to a half of the books, but all the articles. It is hard on the eyes, and I have to get up and walk about with a source book or article to relieve my butt. I've learned a huge amount. But it will be an institutional memory loss when I retire soon. One of my next programs (not my selection) is, God help me, the English Board of Trade and the Navigation Acts. At least I can bring in Cromwell and the Commonwealth.

Narayanan said...

Michael K said...
Most of what we see with Trump is the distilled wisdom of 50 years in commerce and the same length of time dealing with the most corrupt politicians on earth, those of New York City. Maybe Chicago is more corrupt but at a lower scale.
------------============
Trump (NYC) is outsider v Obama (Chicago) is insider

DeepRunner said...

The Bleating Sheep at The Washington Post bleated...
"In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with [Maryanne Trump] Barry in 2018 and 2019."

Yeah, because nobody knows people like family. But what was the angle? Why did she "surreptitiously" record conversations, if not for dirt to put in her book? Reminds me of the excellent film "Knives Out," but from a slightly different direction. Hopefully Mary Trump and Maryanne Trump Barry end up with as much as the Thrombeys do.

Michael K said...

Trump (NYC) is outsider v Obama (Chicago) is insider

Oh, I agree but it is more than that. Trump built things in spite of all the corruption.

Obama was firmly attached to the teat of the corrupt, or in the case of Ayres, the enemy. He still is.

ken in tx said...

"If a person were the sweetest, nicest person on the earth but their policies would impoverish Americans, I would not want them in charge of anything."

You just described Jimmy Carter, and told why he was not re-elected.

Josephbleau said...

I recall it being reported that recording someone without permission is a crime.

gilbar said...

Inga said...
The truth does eventually come out. . . That’s what I believe,

Big Mike said...

You just described Jimmy Carter, and told why he was not re-elected.

@ken in tx, you are imagining that Carter’s carefully-crafted image is the actual man. People I knew who worked in his administration said that he could be a nasty piece of work.

DIO1337 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.