Audio leaked in 2020 has resurfaced of a phone call between Donald Trump‘s older sister, former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, and Trump’s niece, Mary.
In the recording, originally from around 2019, Maryanne didn’t hold back. “His goddamned Tweet and the lying,” she said. ‘Oh my God. I’m talking too freely, but you know. And the change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the holy sh—t. But he’s appealing to the base. What they’re doing with the kids at the border. Well, he’s always been this way,” she added.
She began by reflecting on Trump’s childhood: “He was a brat.” Then discloses her belief that he cheated his way into an Ivy League education: “He ended up in Fordham … and then he got into University of Pennsylvania, because he had somebody take the exams and cheat.” Later, Maryanne said plainly: “Donald is out for Donald period.”
Trump: “No principles. None.”
Trump’s sister Maryanne Trump Barry is on a recorded video talking about what a liar her brother Donald is and how you can’t trust him because he has no principles! In four years Trump made 30,573 fake and misleading claims! His sister is a Judge and knows exactly who he is! pic.twitter.com/VNOm5SmQUV
— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) November 16, 2025
Meanwhile, much of what Maryanne said — including that Trump has “no principles. None.” — has been proven true in Trump’s subsequent political career, continuing into his second, non-consecutive term.
For instance, she slammed the “kids at the border” situation, saying, “Donald is cruel.” That aligns directly with the well-documented family-separation policy under Trump’s first term — the so-called “zero tolerance” immigration enforcement that led to children held apart from parents.
Maryanne’s reference to “appealing to the base” likewise maps onto Trump’s strategy of energizing his core supporters. And her remarks about lying and a lack of preparation are also borne out in the many fact-checks of Trump’s own statements and claims.
Her comments — from “You can’t trust him” to “He has no principles” — offered a rare, direct condemnation from within the Trump inner circle.
Mary Trump’s 2020 book
Mary Trump’s books are solid, credible analyses of her uncle’s pathology and her family’s broken dynamics. Her articulate, measured commentary is always enlightening. I admire her courage and persistence.https://t.co/8WrCcyMuyq
— Jonas Edmondson (@EdmondsonJonas) November 17, 2025
That same year, Donald’s niece, Mary Trump, who was on that call with her aunt, wrote a book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, presenting a scathing portrait of Trump’s upbringing, family dynamics, and the role that privilege and deception played in his path to power.
Though not proven, Maryanne’s allegation that Trump had someone else take his entrance exams for him — “SATs or whatever … That’s what I do believe. I even remember the name,” Joe Shapiro, she said — ties in with the broader narrative Mary exposed in her book, suggesting a deep sense of entitlement and manipulation within the family. (Shapiro, Trump’s friend, is deceased, and his family denied the fraudulent test-taking allegation.)
Maryanne, who died in 2023 at the age of 86, had never publicly criticized her brother before these recordings. That alone made the leak especially noteworthy. But with the phone call audio and Mary’s tell-tale book, Trump’s family tried to warn us for some time, but with Trump’s reelection, some of us clearly weren’t listening.
