In a NYTimes editorial yesterday, a commenter brought up an old Trump story from December 2000 where, when his nephew Fred 3rd contested Trump's father’s will, the Donald and remaining siblings retaliated. They cut off Fred 3rd’s medical insurance leaving his 18-month-old baby who had a rare neurological disorder (and $300k in medical bills) in the lurch. The Daily News had the story then, and it was brought up by some blogs last year (for example, here, here, here, and here), but this NYT reference to the affair was the first I encountered. So damn cold. Here are some pertinent quotes from the Daily News’ original story:
The megabuilder and his siblings Robert and Maryanne terminated their nephew's family medical coverage a week after he challenged the will of their father, Fred Trump. "This was so shocking, so disappointing and so vindictive," said niece Lisa Trump, whose son, William, was born 18 months ago at Mount Sinai Medical Center with a rare neurological disorder that produces violent seizures, brain damage and medical bills topping $300,000. The Trump family feud has come to light in recent days as the dispute over Fred Trump's estate is being played out in Queens Surrogate Court. The patriarch left between $100 million and $300 million, according to different family estimates. A separate case over the denial of medical coverage that Fred Trump freely provided to his family for decades was filed in Nassau Supreme Court. Both lawsuits were filed by Fred Trump 3rd and Mary Trump, the children of Donald's late brother, Fred Jr. They offer a rare window into one of New York's most prominent families, a world where alliances and rivalries are magnified by power, money and the tough-nosed tactics of Donald Trump. "When [Fred 3rd] sued us, we said, 'Why should we give him medical coverage?
'" Donald said in an interview with the Daily News last week. Asked whether he thought cutting their coverage could appear cold-hearted, given the baby's medical condition, Donald made no apologies. "I can't help that," he said. "It's cold when someone sues my father. Had he come to see me, things could very possibly have been much different for them.
To quote the NYT commenter, Fastfurious, who was quite eloquent in his outrage:
This is how Trump spitefully &vindictively punished his nephew, his dead brother's son, over a family legal dispute.
After his uncle terminated his medical insurance, Fred 3rd struggled to provide medical care for his critically ill hospitalized baby.
Donald Trump isn't a hard-nosed businessman. He's a mean, selfish, vindictive jerk who cutoff medical care to his own nephew & the nephew's critically ill baby when he got mad at him over $$$$. Trump was willing to destroy a member of his own family - his nephew's sick baby - to punish him.
Why would Donald Trump treat you any better?
Well, he didn’t, did he?