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Too Much and Never Enough

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Too Much and Never Enough
AuthorMary L. Trump
LanguageEnglish
SubjectDonald Trump and his family[1]
PublishedJuly 14, 2020
PublisherSimon & Schuster[1]
Publication placeUnited States
Pages240[1]
ISBN9781982141462 (Hardcover)[1]

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man is a tell-all book written by Mary L. Trump, a niece of Donald Trump. It was published on July 14, 2020, by Simon & Schuster. The book provides an insider look to the Trump family dynamics, reveals details about financial dealings, including the author's work as the anonymous source who revealed the suspected tax fraud to The New York Times.[2] The Trump family launched a lawsuit in an attempt to stop its publication but was unsuccessful in delaying the release of the book.[3]

Background

The book's author, Mary L. Trump, a clinical psychologist,[4] is a daughter of Fred Trump Jr., and a granddaughter of Fred Trump Sr. She has taught graduate students in the subjects of trauma, psychopathology, and developmental psychology.[5] She has written a dissertation on stalking victims, conducted research on schizophrenia, and written parts of the prominent medical manual Diagnosis: Schizophrenia.[6] Mary's father died in 1981 at the age of 42 from a heart attack due to alcoholism.[7]

Following the death of Fred Sr. in 1999, Mary and her brother, Fred III, contested Fred Sr.'s will in probate court, claiming that Fred Sr. was suffering from dementia, and the will was "procured by fraud and undue influence" by Fred Sr.'s other children, Donald, Maryanne, and Robert. A week later, Donald, Maryanne, and Robert terminated health insurance coverage for Fred III's son, William, an 18-month old with epileptic spasms. In an interview with the New York Daily News, Mary said that her "aunt and uncles should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure they are not."[8] The suit was settled, with William's health insurance reinstated.[9] Donald in 2016 explained his actions: "I was angry because they sued."[10]

After her uncle's presidential campaign, Mary Trump came into contact with The New York Times, and provided boxes of tax documents from the Trump family as an anonymous source. The documents were used for a 2018 article that detailed financial fraud by Trump that won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner.[2][11]

Barstow pursued Mary Trump with an offer to ghostwrite a book for her. He introduced her to Andrew Wylie, his agent, who offered her a multi-million dollar advance for her participation. Craig and Buettner were angry when they found out about this, and the editors of the Times forbade Barstow from writing the book, as they felt that his involvement would breach the Times ethical guidelines. Mary Trump ended up working with Jay Mandel of WME, and sold her book's publishing rights to Simon & Schuster in an auction.[2][11]

Synopsis

The book takes the form of a chronological biography; while Donald Trump is the stated focal point, significant attention is devoted to other individuals in the Trump family as a way to shed light on their mutual dynamics and financial dealings. Drawing on her skills as a clinical psychologist, the author attempts to provide the inner familial workings as a background from which to analyze Donald,[12] but has avoided outright diagnosis.[13]

In Part One: The Cruelty is the Point, the author describes the character of Fred Trump Sr., the patriarch of the family, and attempts to elucidate how his treatment of his children has had a lasting impact on them. Based on recollections from family members, Mary diagnoses Fred Sr. as a high-functioning sociopath who sought to use those around him for his benefit.[14] Donald, while observing his brother Fred Jr. being criticised over perceived shortfalls, would adopt his nature to avoid displays of sadness, weakness or kindness.[15] Mary states Fred's influence ensured that Donald would have limited access to his range of emotions.[13] Their mother, Mary, is described as physically and mentally challenged during the children’s formative years as a result of illness.[13] Later in life, she would reveal to Mary that she was relieved when Donald was sent to military school, as he had become belligerent and disobedient towards her.[16]

In Part Two: The Wrong Side of the Tracks, the author chronicles the early career of Donald Trump. She observes that, since Fred never reached the fame he considers deserving of his business acumen, he was happy to allow his son to play the public face while he took care of the actual work by leaning heavily on political and other connections.[17] Meanwhile, Fred Jr. sees that after being unfairly blamed for the collapse of large housing projects, he is sidelined by his brother Donald and thus chose to leave the family business to pursue a career as a commercial pilot.[13][18] The family's constant denigration of his chosen profession contributed to his struggles with alcoholism and other issues, leading to both his aviation career and marriage failing.[13][19] He eventually died due to a heart attack in a hospital away from family, while his parents waited at home and his brother Donald was at a movie theater.[19]

In Part Three: Smoke and Mirrors, the author details how, as the influence of Fred Sr. waned, Donald Trump struggles to operate his business without the knowledge and connections his father provides. Mary describes Donald as an inept businessman that was able to keep up appearances only due to his associates’ unwillingness to tear down the facade, as they see his notoriety as an asset.[16] At one point Donald has to negotiate with his creditors for a monthly allowance of $450,000.[20] Mary also focuses on how the family turned on her after Fred Sr.’s death, including cutting off the health insurance of her brother and her, resulting in precarious conditions for her brother's child. Mary decides to settle by allowing the rest of the family to buy out her partnership of a family corporation at what she now understands to be a significant undervaluation.[13][21] She eventually learned the true value of her family's wealth by acting as an anonymous source in the Pulitzer-winning New York Times investigation.[7]

In Part Four: The Worse Investment Ever Made, the author provides her view of the period when Donald Trump mounted a successful campaign for the US presidency. Mary again draws on her psychologist training to claim that her grandfather Fred Sr. initiated a direct line to more power actors, all enabling Donald's worst instincts to serve their respective needs.[16] She states that, due to Trump's psychological capacity being forcefully stopped from fully developing since his young age, he remains extremely susceptible to manipulation by more capable local and foreign actors.[13]

Allegations

The book reportedly covers how Mary provided The New York Times with confidential tax documents from the Trump family, resulting in the Times alleging that Donald engaged in fraud, as well as reporting that Donald transferred approximately $413 million from his father's real estate businesses to aid his own struggling businesses during the 1990s.[7][22][23] The book also accuses Donald of paying a friend, named Joe Shapiro, to take the SAT for him.[24][13] Mary says in the book that Donald and Fred Sr. neglected her father and contributed to his death from alcoholism, and that Donald later disparaged and disregarded Fred Sr. upon the onset of Fred Sr.'s Alzheimer's disease.[22][23]

Release

Simon & Schuster initially set a release date of August 11, 2020, and gave the exclusive report about it to The Daily Beast, which published an article about the book on June 15.[7][11][22] Two days later, the book reached No. 5 on Amazon's bestseller list.[25] The response to the article led them to move the publication date up to July 28.[11][26] On July 6, Simon & Schuster announced that they had moved the publication date to July 14 as a result of "high demand and extraordinary interest", which had led it to surpass The Room Where It Happened as the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon.[27] On July 17, 2020, Simon & Schuster announced that the book had sold more than 950,000 copies in pre-orders by its publication date,[28][29] a new record for the publisher.[30]

Donald Trump, according to The Daily Beast, discussed the possibility of taking legal action against Mary.[31] Donald told Axios that Mary had previously signed a "very powerful" non-disclosure agreement that "covers everything", therefore according to Donald, she was "not allowed to write a book".[32]

Robert Trump filed suit on June 23, attempting to secure a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order to block publication, citing Mary's non-disclosure agreement (NDA).[33] In a hearing on June 25, Judge Peter J. Kelly of the Queens County Surrogate Court in New York City dismissed the case over lack of jurisdiction.[34] Robert took his case to a general trial court, the New York Supreme Court in Dutchess County, where on June 30, Justice Hal B. Greenwald ordered a temporary stay of the release of the book, while setting a hearing for July 10 to decide whether the book should be permanently blocked from publication.[35] A New York appellate justice, Alan D. Scheinkman, on July 1, reversed the lower court’s decision, finding that Simon & Schuster was not a party to the NDA, was not subject to prior restraint and pre-publication injunction considering the First Amendment, ruling that Simon & Schuster could proceed to publish the book pending a hearing on July 10, leaving Mary enjoined from book sale activities, and leaving open the question of whether Mary had violated the NDA.[3] On July 2, 2020, Mary filed a sworn affidavit alleging she was not bound by the NDA clause in the Settlement Agreement for numerous reasons, including that the asset "valuations...in...the Settlement Agreement...were fraudulent."[36]

On July 13, Justice Greenwald issued a ruling affirming Simon & Schuster's right to continue to publish the book, and finding Mary, under her contract with Simon & Schuster, had no ability to halt publication, that it would have been “moot” to order her to stop publication of a book that "has been published and distributed in great quantities" already. The justice also suggested the case was additionally weak because it was brought by Robert, while the book focused largely on his brother Donald, the president. Robert could still attempt to seek monetary damages from Mary, but as of the ruling date it was uncertain if he intended to do so.[37]

Reception

The book received generally positive reviews. Critics praise the author for drawing on both her clinical psychologist background and knowledge of familial history to produce a standout work in the Trump tell-all genre.[18] Jennifer Szalai of The New York Times praises the author's courage and determination, describing the book as "written from pain and is designed to hurt,"[21] the latter part of the characterization Mary later rejects.[13] The LA Times contrasts the book with other work on Trump's presidency, stating the empathetic manner with which the author approached the subject makes for a unique take.[17] The Atlantic agrees with the author's observation that Donald Trump has allowed for similarly toxic family dynamics to be brought to the national stage.[16] David Aaronovitch of The Times notes the book is in large part a biography of Fred Trump Sr., and notes that by shaping Donald definitively the old patriarch's presence in some way looms largely over modern political history.[38] Chris Taylor of Mashable is more critical, observing that the author makes sweeping claims while sometimes contradicting herself.[39]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Too Much and Never Enough". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Klein, Charlotte (June 15, 2020). "Trump's niece leaked his tax secrets to The New York Times". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Haberman, Maggie; Feuer, Alan (July 1, 2020). "Tell-All Book on Trump Can Move Forward Pending Hearing, Judge Rules". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Mangan, Dan; Higgins, Tucker (June 25, 2020). "Judge rejects Trump family attempt to block publication of niece Mary Trump's tell-all book". CNBC. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Philipose, Rahel (June 28, 2020). "Explained: Why the Trump family is trying to block a book by US President's niece". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Kranish, Michael (June 26, 2020). "Mary Trump once stood up to her uncle Donald. Now her book describes a 'nightmare' of family dysfunction". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Cartwright, Lachlan (June 14, 2020). "Revealed: The Family Member Who Turned on Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  8. ^ Evans, Heidi (December 19, 2000). "Inside Trumps' bitter battle – Nephew's ailing baby caught in the middle". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 16, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ D'Antonio, Michael (June 17, 2020). "The psychologist in the Trump family speaks". CNN. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Horowitz, Jason (January 6, 2016). "For Donald Trump, Lessons From a Brother's Suffering". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d Pompeo, Joe (June 16, 2020). "'She Feels Very Determined': How Mary Trump's Coming Bombshell Was Built". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Parker, Ashley (July 17, 2020). "Mary Trump says the U.S. has devolved into a version of her 'incredibly dysfunctional family'". Washington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i "ABC News Exclusive: Mary Trump Interview with Stephanopoulos | ABC News – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Pengelly, Martin (July 7, 2020). "Donald Trump's behavior was shaped by his 'sociopath' father, niece writes in bombshell book". The Guardian. Retrieved July 17, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Wise, Alana (July 15, 2020). "Mary Trump Describes Abusive Trump Family Home, Says She Will Vote For Biden". NPR. Retrieved July 17, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b c d Garber, Megan (July 17, 2020). "How Americans Became Part of the Trump Family". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 17, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ a b Andersen, Kurt (July 14, 2020). "Review: The most devastating thing about Mary Trump's portrait is her empathy for Donald Trump". LA Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ a b Green, Lloyd (July 12, 2020). "Too Much and Never Enough review: Mary Trump thumps Donald". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ a b "Mary Trump describes family as 'malignantly dysfunctional' l GMA – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  20. ^ Trump, Mary (2020). Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man. United States: Simon & Schuster. p. 136. ISBN 9781982141486.
  21. ^ a b Szalai, Jennifer (July 14, 2020). "All in the Family Dynamics: Donald Trump's Niece on the President's Clan". The New York Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b c Stieb, Matt (June 15, 2020). "Trump's Niece to Make a Big Addition to the Genre of Tell-all Trump Books". Intelligencer. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Vigdor, Neil; Alter, Alexandra (June 15, 2020). "Trump's Niece to Publish Book With 'Harrowing' Revelations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  24. ^ Neumeister, Larry (July 7, 2020). "Mary Trump's book offers devastating portrayal of president". Fox45. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  25. ^ Mangan, Dan (June 17, 2020). "Trump-bashing books by president's niece and John Bolton are Amazon bestsellers even before release". CNBC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  26. ^ Haberman, Maggie (June 23, 2020). "Trump Family Asks Court to Stop Publication of Tell-All by President's Niece". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Stelter, Brian (July 6, 2020). "The explosive tell-all book by Trump's niece is coming out two weeks earlier than expected". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  28. ^ "Mary Trump book already nearing 1 million sales". Detroit News. The Associated Press. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  29. ^ Guardian Staff (July 18, 2020). "Book by Donald Trump's niece sells nearly 1m copies on its first day". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ D'Zurilla, Christie (July 17, 2020). "Mary Trump's memoir sells 950,000 on first day, setting a record for publisher". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ Suebsaeng, Asawin; Cartwright, Lachlan (June 17, 2020). "Trump Considers Suing His Niece Over Her Tell-All Book, Saying She Signed an NDA". The Daily Beast. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  32. ^ Swan, Jonathan (June 21, 2020). "Trump says niece 'not allowed' to write book because of nondisclosure agreement". Axios. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  33. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (June 23, 2020). "Trump's Younger Brother Tries to Block Book by President's Niece". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  34. ^ Darcy, Oliver (June 25, 2020). "Court dismisses motion by Trump's brother to block tell-all book by President's niece". CNN. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  35. ^ Neumeister, Larry (July 1, 2020). "Judge temporarily blocks tell-all book by Trump's niece". Associated Press. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  36. ^ Trump v. Trump, 51585/15 (2d Dep’t July 1, 2020), Dkt. 79 ¶ 12 (Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Dutchess July 2, 2020), Text.
  37. ^ Jacobs, Shayna (July 13, 2020). "Judge affirms Trump's niece can publish her book about the president and his family". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  38. ^ Aaronovitch, David (July 15, 2020). "Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L Trump review — who's more awful than Trump? His father". The Times. Retrieved July 18, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ Taylor, Chris. "We read Mary Trump's book about Donald Trump so you don't have to". Mashable. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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