Donald Trump’s Nephew, Whose Son Has ‘Severe’ Disabilities, Asks ‘Where Has This Country Gone?’ After Uncle Uses the R-Word

Donald Trump’s nephew, Fred Trump III, is speaking out against his uncle for using what he called “hurtful” language in a recent social media post.

In a late-night Truth Social rant on Thursday, Nov. 27, Donald Trump sarcastically criticized “citizens” and “patriots” whom he claimed have been “just plain STUPID” on immigration.

He specifically targeted the Somali community in Minnesota and the state’s governor, former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, in his Thanksgiving night post.

“The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both,” the president wrote.

Days later, he reinforced the remark while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. When one journalist noted that “many Americans do find [‘retarded’ to be] an offensive word,” Trump, 79, acknowledged the point but did not walk it back.

“Yeah, I think there’s something wrong with him, absolutely, sure,” he replied. “I think there’s something wrong with him.”

On Sunday, Nov. 20, Fred Trump III responded on X, writing: “As the parent of a young adult with severe disabilities, the use of the ‘R’ word is never acceptable and is very hurtful. Where has this country gone that we even have to discuss this?”

Fred’s 26-year-old son, William, was born with a KCNQ2 mutation — “a genetic misfire that the doctors called a potassium channel deletion.” He is nonverbal and uses a wheelchair.

Fred, 63, is the son of Trump’s late older brother, Fred Trump Jr. In a memoir released last year, he accused his uncle of using racist language — including the n-word — in family conversations, and of once telling him that his disabled son would be better off dead.

In the book, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, Fred described a May 2020 meeting with his uncle, who was then serving his first term as president. What he expected to be “a quick handshake hello” turned into “a 45-minute discussion in the Oval Office” with disability advocates, a doctor and then–Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

“I thought [Donald] had been touched by what the doctor and advocates in the meeting had just shared about their journey with their patients and their own family members. But I was wrong,” Fred wrote.

He alleged that his uncle told him afterward, “Those people… The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.”

In another account, Fred recalled visiting Trump at Briarcliff Manor, home to the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, N.Y., later that year. He raised the topic of his son’s medical fund — to which Trump had previously contributed — and said the family “may need some help” financially.

According to Fred, Trump dismissed the request, saying, “I don’t know. He doesn’t recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida.”

At the time of the book’s release, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung denied the allegations, calling them false and claiming, without evidence, that similar reports had already been debunked.

“This is completely fabricated and total fake news of the highest order,” Cheung said in a statement. “It is appalling a lie so blatantly disgusting can be printed in media. Anyone who knows President Trump knows he would never use such language, and false stories like this have been thoroughly debunked.”