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Donald Trump has for the first time publicly commented on the death of his sister, admitting that his running for president in 2016 negatively affected her for the duration of her life.
Maryanne Trump Barry died Monday at the age of 86. The elder sister of the former president, she became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1972 and then climbed the judiciary ranks.
She was appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan and 16 years later was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Bill Clinton.
"A truly beautiful woman, tall and elegant, with a presence like no other, [Maryanne] was also a tremendous student, intellect, and Judge, in charge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, just below the U.S. Supreme Court," Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
"Her life was largely problem free, PERFECT, until I made it difficult for her when I decided to run for President. The Fake News, and others, went after her mercilessly, and because of the fact that she felt it inappropriate, due to her position, to defend herself, it just never stopped! While tough and strong, she was made to suffer in those years from 2016 until her Retirement."
In 2019, at the age of 82, Trump Barry retired as an appellate judge to put an end to an investigation alleging that she committed judicial misconduct in the form of tax fraud. Investigations can be carried out only for sitting judges, though at the time she had been inactive for two years.
The siblings' relationship was considered by outsiders as somewhat strained in her final years.
In 2020, Donald Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump, released several recordings of Trump Barry speaking about her brother ahead of the release of her book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man.
"His base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this," Trump Barry said in one recording, the Associated Press reported.
Another recording previously obtained by the AP quoted Trump Barry as saying that her brother "has no principles."
Her death follows the deaths of Donald Trump's ex-wife, Ivana, and his brother, Robert S. Trump.
Ivana, the first wife of the former president, died last July.
"I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City," Trump wrote in part on Truth Social following her death.
Robert S. Trump died in 2020 at age 71. He was referred to in a statement by Donald Trump as "not just my brother [but] my best friend."
"He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again," Trump added.
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek investigative reporter based in Michigan. His focus includes U.S. and international politics and policies, immigration, ... Read more