Politics- Trump is using the GOP to help him keep "grifting money" from his supporters, his niece Mary has told Insider.
- She said Trump has no serious intention of attempting another presidential run for the Republican Party.
- "Donald couldn't care less about
politics , he couldn't care less about this country, he couldn't care less about the Republicans,"Mary Trump said. - "It's all about maintaining the grip on power. He thinks on some level it's going to allow him to continue to operate with impunity as he has done his whole life."
Former President
Trump hinted at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February that he may run again for president in 2024.
"I may even decide to beat them for a third time," Trump said, referring to his false claims to have beaten Joe Biden in last year's presidential election.
However, Mary Trump predicted that the president would merely "pretend" to be preparing to run in 2024 as a means to retain his popularity with the GOP base in order to raise money.
"It's important to remember that Donald couldn't care less about politics, he couldn't care less about this country, he couldn't care less about the Republicans," Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist who last year published a tell-all book on her family, told Insider.
"It's all about maintaining the grip on power. He thinks on some level it's going to allow him to continue to operate with impunity as he has done his whole life, and also it's going to allow him to keep grifting money off of people," she said.
"I've said all along he has no intention to run for the presidency in 2024. He's going to pretend to. And in the meantime, he's going to keep the Republican party on his toes so they continue to do his bidding."
The period since losing the election been lucrative for Trump: He raised at least $150 million since November to challenge his election defeat and reportedly more than $30 million through his Save America PAC alone, which was founded to fund his political future.
Trump this week emailed supporters this week urging them to send donations to his Save America PAC instead of the Republican National Committee, warning them not to donate to RINOs, or Republicans in name only - likely describing members of Congress who opposed him.
The former president's email read: "No more money for RINOS. They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base - they will never lead us to Greatness. Send your donation to Save America PAC at DonaldJTrump.com. We will bring it all back stronger than ever before!"
Trump was reportedly infuriated that the Republican National Committee had been using his likeness without his permission to raise money for senators including those who had voted to convict him on impeachment charges.
"The likeness thing makes me laugh," Mary Trump told Insider.
"Because when has Donald not wanted people using his likeness? He's a public figure so it's embarrassingly absurd."
The former president has retained a strong grip on his party since leaving office. Senior Republican senators have started to defend him in recent weeks after initially distancing themselves from him following the Capitol riot on January 6.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the House Minority leader, said he would "absolutely" support Trump as a presidential nominee in 2024 weeks after he said that President Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the January 6 riot.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, said that he remained loyal to the former president because he wanted to "harness" his "magic."
Donald Trump's successors will fail, says Mary Trump
Mary Trump said that other Republicans who had pushed President Trump's baseless election claims, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley and former Vice-President Mike Pence, would be unsuccessful in capturing Trump's support base for their own possible presidential runs because they lack his "charisma."
"These are people who made the calculation that their best bet is to stick with Donald and emulate him in any way they can or maybe outdo his extremism," she said.
"What they don't seem to understand is that even though Donald is a logical conclusion to the direction in which the Republican party has been trending for a very long time, not one of those people has the - I hate using this word for Donald but unfortunately, it's accurate - charisma."
"He has a certain charisma that appeals to people's lowest and basest instinct and gives permission to people to be their worst selves. He can be charming, it makes sense to me that people can be taken in by him. Ted Cruz, Mike Pence, and Josh Hawley don't have that."