Trump called niece who wrote critical book 'unstable,' saying she was 'rightfully shunned, scorned and mocked' her whole life

• On Twitter on Saturday, President Donald Trump called his niece Mary Trump "unstable" and said she was "rightfully shunned, scorned and mocked her entire life."
• Mary Trump had recently released new recordings of the president's sister criticizing his children.
• In her book, which came out in July, Mary Trump described the president as bullying and cheating his way through life.

President Donald Trump blasted his niece Mary Trump on Twitter on Saturday, calling her "unstable" and saying she was "rightfully shunned, scorned and mocked her entire life, and never even liked by her own very kind & caring grandfather!"

Mary Trump, 55, a clinical psychologist, wrote a scathing book about the president called "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," released last month.

—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2020

The president's tweets — in which he also said people could land book deals and jobs with CNN and MSNBC (which he called "MSDNC") only if they "contain as much bad 'stuff' as possible" — came after Mary Trump released new recordings of his sister Maryanne Trump Barry criticizing his children.

Referring to a photo Ivanka Trump posted on Instagram of her and her son in May 2018, while the Trump administration was separating children from their families at the US-Mexico border, Barry can be heard saying, "That damn Ivanka puts this picture of the 'Madonna and Child' on Instagram when the big news of the day was how kids are being ripped from their families."

Mary Trump's book describes the president's bullying and cheating 'as a way of life'

In her book, Mary Trump said her uncle bullied and cheated "as a way of life."

For example, she said, he paid someone to take the SAT for him, which helped earn his admission to Wharton.

She also said that the president went to a movie while his older brother was dying and that his behavior was at odds with his evangelical base.

"The only time Donald went to church was when the cameras were there," she wrote, quoting her aunt. "It's mind-boggling. But that's all about his base. He has no principles. None!"

She blamed her uncle's nature on an abusive upbringing by a father who hated apologies more than failures and who didn't allow his son to access or express his feelings.

"That's what sociopaths do: they co-opt others and use them toward their own ends — ruthlessly and efficiently, with no tolerance for dissent or resistance," she wrote.