Former President Donald Trump has never been one to hold back when it comes to his opinions on just about any topic, and as it turns out, he's just as free with his thoughts behind closed doors. In his new memoir, All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way, Donald's nephew, Fred C. Trump III, claims that his uncle said that disabled Americans "should just die" — even knowing that Fred's son was part of that community.
More from LittleThings: 'The Simpsons' Predicted Kamala Harris' Presidential Run: What Else Did It Get Right?
In an excerpt from the book that was first shared by Time, Fred writes about his third child, William, who was born in 1999 and soon diagnosed with infantile spasms, a "rare seizure disorder which in William's case altered his development physically and cognitively," due to a genetic mutation.
While raising William, Fred and his wife, Lisa, became well versed in what it's like to be a caregiver to a child with special needs, and all the associated expenses that come with making sure a child gets the care needed.
In 2020, he joined a group of doctors and advocates for a meeting with his uncle at the White House to discuss the challenges faced by this community. And while Fred notes that Donald seemed "genuinely concerned" during the meeting, things changed when he asked Fred to meet with him privately after the meeting was over.
That's when Donald reportedly said something that caught Fred off guard. He wrote, "'Those people …' Donald said, trailing off. 'The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.'"
That statement is shocking enough, but something Fred claims the then-president said later was even more upsetting. Later, he writes that the family created a fund to pay for William's care around the time he was 9 years old, but later, when the fund was running low, Fred met with his uncle again to see if it would be possible for the family to continue helping.
It's then that Fred wrote that Donald said of William, "He doesn’t recognize you. Maybe you should just let him die and move down to Florida."
More from LittleThings: Jon Voight on Daughter Angelina Jolie's Politics: 'She Has Been Exposed To Propaganda'
Understandably, Fred was hurt, but wrote that maybe he "shouldn’t have been surprised to hear Donald say that."
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Donald Trump, has denied the claims Fred made against him in the book, calling it "total fake news of the highest order."
"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."
If Fred's story is true, it wouldn't be the first time that an incident like this happened. In 2015, Donald mocked a reporter with a disability during a campaign rally.
