Mary Trump, the estranged niece of Donald Trump, said on Saturday that the former president is kept awake at night by "a lot of Diet Coke" and concerns over holding onto his reputation.
Speaking with CNN on Saturday morning, Mary Trump discussed how her uncle's ongoing legal battles are weighing on his mind, specifically his whopping $454 million judgement in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The ruling, which found that the former president and The Trump Organization inflated his assets' worth in order to obtain more favorable business terms, takes a direct hit at Trump's image as a business tycoon, something his niece said he holds as extremely important.
"I think it's really important to clarify, it's not that he be successful, it's that he's seen to be successful," Mary Trump said. "Because deep down Donald knows that he is nothing of what he pretends to be. I think what keeps him up at night, other than a lot of Diet Coke, would be this concern, one, that he doesn't actually have the money."
Trump's defense team had requested to delay the collection of his total judgement pending their appeal of Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling. Engoron ordered Trump to pay roughly $355 million in fines plus prejudgment interest. Instead, Trump's team sought to post a $100 million bond in the meantime. That request, however, was denied by a New York appellate judge earlier this week.
Mary Trump said on Saturday that her uncle's request to delay payment could be a sign that "he may not indeed have that much cash," which "would reveal not just to the world but to himself, that he is not as rich as he claims to be."
"He is not the savvy businessman who's been betrayed in New York tabloids since the 1980s," she added. "And that would be a crushing blow not just to his image, but to his sense of himself."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's press team via email for comment.
The former president has adamantly denied the ruling in his civil fraud case, claiming that he and his real estate empire is worth more than what was listed on the financial documents at the center of the case. His net worth is not publicly known, although he testified during a deposition last year that he had "substantially in excess of $400 million in cash." Bloomberg Billionaires Index has estimated that Trump's liquid assets are at about $600 million and that his net worth is around $3.1 billion.
Trump's defense attorney, Alina Habba, said shortly after Engoron's ruling that the former president was prepared to pay the over $400 million bond required for him to appeal the decision. But in their request to delay collection of the bond, Trump's defense team wrote that the ruling, which also barred Trump from taking out loans in the state of New York or serving as an officer of a company registered in the state, made it "impossible to secure and post a complete bond."
The former president has to post the total $454 million judgement within 30 days of Engoron's decision. After that, state prosecutors are allowed to collect the total amount from him, which could mean going after Trump's bank accounts or properties.
Mary Trump added during her appearance on CNN that she thinks it "would be impossible" for anyone in her uncle's position to not face "massive amounts of stress" between continued legal obstacles and running for reelection.
"Just the stress of running again, the stress of having lost, it's going to take its toll," she added. "I see somebody who's quite desperate and who is terrified. I think deep down Donald has always been a terrified little boy. But the truth is, he has much, much more to be terrified about now. His entire future hinges on his ability to get back into the White House."
Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, is currently facing four criminal indictments and a total of 91 felony charges on both the state and federal level. He has maintained his innocence in those cases and said they are politically motivated.
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