Photo Credit © MARY L. TRUMP
b. May 3, 1965
“Donald … destroyed my father. I can’t let him destroy my country.”
Mary L. Trump is a psychologist, an author and a political figure famous for her best-selling memoir, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” The niece of former president Donald J. Trump, she has been a scathing critic of her uncle’s presidency and political influence.
Mary Trump was born in New York City to Linda Clapp and the former president’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr. Growing up, she lived mostly with her paternal grandparents in Queens, New York. She suffered a traumatic childhood marked by callous and chaotic family dynamics, abuse and neglect. Her father, who was devalued by her grandfather and uncle Donald, died from complications of alcoholism when Mary was 16. His death became a source of family strife.
Trump attended Tufts University as an undergraduate, then earned her master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University.
In a 2020 interview by The Advocate, Trump described her family as “anti everything” that was unlike them. Her grandmother denigrated Elton John for being gay, referring to him as “that little faggot.” Trump feared disownment if she came out as a lesbian. She kept her sexual orientation hidden for many years. When she eventually married a woman, she did not disclose her spouse’s identity.
Simon & Schuster published Trump’s first book, “Too Much and Never Enough,” in July 2020. In it, Trump reveals herself as the main source for the New York Times’s investigation of Donald Trump’s financial history. She also provides a professional assessment of the former president’s mental stability, saying he exhibits sociopathic tendencies. She considers him a “terrified little boy” who was never held to any standard of accountability.
During the 2020 election, Trump worked with LPAC, an organization that encourages and supports female LGBTQ+ candidates for public office. “If it’s only men making decisions about women’s issues or straight people making decisions about LGBTQ issues,” she said, “then that’s where we run into problems.” LPAC is credited with helping Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema, two of 11 openly LGBT members of Congress, get elected.
Trump lives with her daughter on Long Island, New York. She has owned multiple businesses and is the founder and CEO of The Trump Coaching Group, a life coaching organization. Her second book, “The Reckoning: America’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal” was published in August 2021.
In 1994, Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school teacher, believed a month should be dedicated to the celebration and teaching of gay and lesbian history, and gathered other teachers and community leaders. They selected October because public schools are in session and existing traditions, such as Coming Out Day (October 11), occur that month.
Gay and Lesbian History Month was endorsed by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Education Association and other national organizations. In 2006 Equality Forum assumed responsibility for providing content, promotion and resources for LGBT History Month.
