They’ll Sell America to the Highest Bidder

In Conversation with Andrew Marr

[Transcript edited for clarity, flow and length]

I joined Andrew Marr on his show, Leading Britain’s Conversation, and we talked about the openness of the Trump family’s corruption and how that may be helping to normalize it. Plus, of course, we discussed the upcoming midterms and how we think Donald is going to react if, and hopefully when, Democrats take control of both houses of Congress.

Andrew Marr: It is 50 days until the hugely important American midterm elections. On the day when we learned that one of President Putin’s closest associates bankrolled the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. earlier this year, I spoke to President Trump’s not entirely enthusiastic niece, Mary Trump, a psychologist and an author. I began by asking her what her uncle was worried about in these midterm elections.

Mary Trump: Crystal, Andrew. It’s great to be back with you, especially now because we are at an incredibly crucial point in this election season, and I don’t think we can overstate the importance of this election in terms of the future of America and, quite frankly, the planet.

I think Donald is desperately worried because even he has to see the writing on the wall. Now, all of this is sort of based on Donald’s belief that he should win everything. And because he deserves to win, he should be able to cheat. And of course, he can only win by cheating, hence the bribes to the American people, which, by the way, are illegal.

And also his narcissism is all tied up in this because if he were smart, if he were politically savvy, he would know that the best thing he could do is stay quiet and let the Republicans run their races without him. But he’s making this election about him, which I have to say is a good thing for anybody who believes in the future of American democracy because he is so unpopular, he’s so toxic, and yet he cannot help himself. So I think it’s diagnostic, but it’s also good for the...

Andrew Marr: And Mary, is this partly because of his trade war with Canada and the effect of that on all those northern states who rely on Canadian trade both ways so much?

Mary Trump: It is incredible how effectively he’s shooting himself and his party in the foot, metaphorically speaking. Because again, if he understood tariffs and he understood how the economy is going to impact those states, all of which, by the way, have crucial Senate races, we’re talking about Maine and Ohio and a couple of others, he would never, ever have implemented these tariffs.

And he would know that, of course, Canada’s going to retaliate because he launched a completely unjustified, unprovoked trade war against one of our closest allies for no reason that I can understand.

Andrew Marr: And so let’s imagine that in the midterms, President Trump loses both houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. What does that mean for the rest of his time as president?

Mary Trump: I think, unfortunately, even though that of course is the best of all possible outcomes because there will be some attempt to hold him and his enablers accountable by the Democratic Party if they do get back into power, Donald will become completely unmoored, which is saying something because he already seems to be, quite frankly.

The difference, of course, is there are so many people helping him get away with the grift, get away with the corruption, get away with the dismantling of American institutions, and indeed our system of governance. Now, when he feels cornered, he will become even more desperate.

And that’s why I’ve been saying since 2020, if Donald feels like he’s going down, he’s going to take all of us down with him because even though, obviously, it is much better to have a party that will put a check on him, he’s still going to be President of the United States and have all of the incredible power that comes along with that.

Andrew Marr: What does an unmoored Donald Trump do, do you think?

Mary Trump: Well, think about what’s going on now and then multiply it times infinity. He will make even more corrupt deals. He will become even more conciliatory towards our sworn enemies, Russia, China, North Korea perhaps even. He will engage perhaps in more military misadventures. He will continue to do whatever he needs to do to enrich himself and his family.

So I think, again, it’s difficult to know what the specifics are going to look like, but if we’ve learned anything since 2020, certainly since last January 2025, Donald is capable of getting worse at every turn.

Andrew Marr: Mary, we’re talking here about corruption, pure and simple. I’d just like your reaction to the absolutely extraordinary revelation today that Umar Kremlev, who is one of Putin’s closest allies and co conspirators, actually funded the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. back in the spring on a pair of islands just off the coast.

Mary Trump: It’s just gobsmacking, quite frankly. The depths of the corruption of this family shouldn’t surprise us because that’s what happens when you grow up in a family in which money literally is the only thing that matters, when your entire sense of self worth is tied up in your financial worth.

But they have stolen or grifted billions and billions of dollars, and yet they still need somebody to foot the bill for a wedding. What that says to me is that these people are so egregiously on the take, they will sell themselves and the American people to the highest bidder regardless.

And I think, Andrew, what’s increasingly worrisome is that it is out in the open and it’s getting normalized. And we need to remember just how abnormal, how dangerous, and how anti American and illegal it all is.

Andrew Marr: Indeed. Do you think it’s also changing American foreign policy? I’m thinking of Jared Kushner, who is at this wedding funded by the Russians and who’s been over to Moscow and to Kyiv. And as a result of those trips, President Trump is trying to persuade the Ukrainians not to go after Russian oil refineries and diesel refineries. It sounds very, very, very corrupt.

Mary Trump: It is so corrupt, and I think Jared Kushner is the Platonic ideal of a corrupt human being. Everything is about his bottom line, even if it means selling out our ally Ukraine, which, by the way, is almost single handedly trying to protect the Western democratic alliance against, again, our sworn enemy, Russia.

And it’s all to benefit them financially. And Jared isn’t even a member of the government. He’s not affiliated with any government agencies whatsoever. He’s simply there because he’s Donald’s son in law, and he has connections with some of the worst, most unsavory people on the planet. And he, again, is willing to do their bidding to enrich himself further.

Andrew Marr: I’m trying to think of a vigorous argument to have with you about that, but I can’t at the moment. Let me ask you about something that Donald Trump said during his visit to Ireland, because the UK has changed its position on West Bank settlements and we were expecting an explosion, and the explosion didn’t come.

But in Ireland, he said that he’d like to see a united island, he’d like to see Northern Ireland breaking away from the UK, and he feels much the same about Scotland and perhaps Wales. So do you think this is payback, in a sense? Is he swiping back at the British government saying:

I don’t mind the United Kingdom being broken up, by the way?

Mary Trump: It’s probable because that’s kind of his level of maturity, but it also demonstrates that he knows nothing about anything and is willing to take positions that are unpopular or even self defeating just to make a point, just to be a bully, just to throw his weight around.

And I think that also it’s very possible that somebody just whispered that in his ear as a thing to say because, again, I don’t know why he would’ve come up with that. But he is always going to go to the lowest common denominator to just fight back, even if it is completely nonsensical.

Andrew Marr: Provoke, provoke, provoke. Finally, you said it was all quite right. It’s all out in the open. We can see what’s going on. Do you think there’s the slightest chance that if they take back both houses, the Democrats will actually launch impeachment proceedings against him?

Mary Trump: That will almost certainly happen. The problem with that, however, is it is extraordinarily unlikely they will have enough seats in the Senate to convict him. So the House impeaches, and then that goes to the Senate for trial.

And in order to convict, which is to say remove a president from office, they would need 60 votes, which I’m almost certain they won’t have. I still think it’s worth going through the exercise, however, because the American people, who don’t typically pay attention nearly enough to American politics as people in the UK do, for example, it’s very important for them to have the facts laid out before them, just how breathtakingly corrupt and anti American this regime is.

Andrew Marr: Mary Trump, clear and forthright as ever. Thank you very, very much for talking to LBC.

Mary Trump: Thank you so much, Andrew.