Donald Trump's nephew, Fred Trump III, has suggested that media attention is a critical vulnerability for the former president, drawing on a decades-old family anecdote to support his view. Fred Trump III posited on X, formerly Twitter, that the media might be able to undermine his uncle by withholding the attention he actively seeks.
Fred Trump III recounted a family gathering in 1990 following an eight-day period where Donald Trump was featured on the front page of The New York Post with negative headlines. He observed his uncle appearing "gloomy." When Fred Trump III inquired about his uncle's mood, he was reportedly told by Robert Trump that Donald Trump was unhappy because he had not been featured on the Post's cover that day.
"I have never forgotten that," Fred Trump III wrote, sharing the anecdote as a personal reason for his belief that reducing media coverage could be effective. He advised that while consequential news should be covered, "not every Trump provocation deserves amplification." He concluded, "Sometimes, the most powerful response to a demand for attention is simply no attention."
Fred Trump III has been an outspoken critic of his uncle. Earlier this year, he challenged Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims regarding his actions after the September 11th terrorist attacks. In his memoir, "All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way," Fred Trump III also alleged that his uncle had used racist slurs and made disparaging remarks about people with severe disabilities. The former president has previously denied allegations made by his nephew.