Tragic Details About Maryanne Trump Barry
Maryanne Trump Barry is best known to the world as Donald Trump's oldest sister. She spent most of her life out of the public eye, but the Trump name and her connection to the controversial former president meant that she could never fully blend in to the crowd. Trump Barry died on November 31, 2023 at the age of 86, and she devoted most of her life to a robust legal career. She got her start as an attorney, and she eventually became a federal judge, a position she resigned from at the age of 82.
And, although most outside observers would presume that living as the daughter of a wealthy real estate magnate, the sister of a president, and as a high-powered judge herself would make her luckier than most, Maryanne Trump Barry actually faced a multitude of heartbreaks and scandals too. Here's a look into the darker side of Maryanne Trump Barry's personal and public history.
She had a complicated relationship with her brother, Donald Trump
Like many other members of the Trump family, Maryanne Trump Barry refrained from saying anything negative about her younger brother publicly, but her behind-the-scenes assessment of Donald was absolutely brutal. Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, recorded her conversations with Maryanne Trump Barry (unbeknownst to Trump Barry), and Trump Barry had some harsh things to say about Donald. "He has no principles. None. None," Trump Barry said in one recording (per The Washington Post). "Donald is out for Donald, period," Trump Barry stated in another conversation.
And, although Donald Trump has repeatedly proclaimed his own brilliance, his older sister made some major accusations about his education. When speaking to Mary Trump, she said, "he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams." These are some pretty serious allegations, but they're not particularly hard to believe given the scathing comments one of Donald Trump's professors reportedly made about him.
The complications in their relationship were further illustrated through Donald's connections to Maryanne's legal career. The former president has complimented his sister, saying "I think she would be phenomenal" as a Supreme Court judge, adding that Trump Barry was "very smart, and a very good person," (via CNN). But, Donald Trump intervened on his sister's behalf for her federal judgeship nomination in the 80s, and while Trump Barry called it "the only favor I ever asked for in my whole life," her brother tried to take credit for her success.
She grew up in a messy family
By all outward appearances, Maryanne Trump Barry was an incredibly successful woman who did her part to uphold the Trump name for her generation. But, according to Mary Trump's bombshell book, "Too Much and Never Enough," the appearances of the Trump family were often deceiving, and their clan was actually incredibly toxic.
The core of their familial issues was seemingly built around Donald Trump's parents, Fred Trump and Mary MacLeod Trump. Their mother, Mary MacLeod Trump, was characterized as a detached parent whose time was consumed with her own personal illnesses, and their father, Fred Trump Sr., was essentially a real estate con artist with a mercurial, merciless attitude.
In her accounting of their history, Mary Trump makes it clear that she holds the dysfunctional dynamic of the Trump family largely responsible for the death of her own father, Fred Trump Jr., and although Maryanne Trump Barry didn't share her childhood experiences publicly, growing up in such unpleasant circumstances would have been difficult for anyone.
Her husband, John Barry, died in 2000
Maryanne Trump was married twice in her life. Her first husband was David Desmond, whom she divorced in 1980, and they shared one son who went on to become a clinical psychologist, Dr. David Desmond. Luckily, it didn't take Maryanne long to find love again, as she married fellow attorney John Joseph Barry in December of 1982. Their marriage lasted for an impressive 18 years, but it was sadly cut short not by a breakup, but by John Barry's untimely death.
On April 9, 2000, John J. Barry died of cancer at the age of 60. He was a partner in the law firm Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, and Donald Trump was actually one of his clients. Maryanne Trump Barry lived for another 23 years, and she never married again after Barry's death, so even if she found some kind of love later in life, her legal commitment to John Barry never ended.
She was investigated for tax fraud
In 2018, The New York Times published a blockbuster investigation into Donald Trump's finances that seemed to indicate that the Trump family held on to hundreds of millions of dollars in inheritance money as a result of monetary manipulation and tax fraud. Donald Trump also appeared to attempt to seize legal control over his father, Fred Trump, and his father's business in the later years of his life. Ultimately, Donald, Maryanne, and Robert Trump became the executors of Fred Trump's estate, so they were responsible for his estate tax return. In a move that looks starkly similar to what eventually resulted in Donald Trump's fraud case, the Trump family apparently massively understated the value of Fred Trump's assets in order to avoid paying taxes on much of the estate.
The blowback for these activities was understandably severe for the Trump family, but it reflected especially poorly on Maryanne Trump Barry because of her legal expertise, and because of the ethical conduct expectations placed upon federal judges in Trump Barry's position. The revelation of these tax schemes triggered an investigation into Trump Barry.
She retired because of her scandal
As The New York Times also reported, the investigation into Maryanne Trump Barry's potential ethical transgressions ended when Trump Barry retired from her position as a federal appellate judge. Trump Barry was 82 when the news broke, and she hadn't been an active judge for over two years by that point, so some might consider it lucky that she could resolve her potential legal entanglements by simply retiring from her job when she was well past retirement age anyway.
However, resigning to avoid possible impeachment is an unflattering end to Maryanne Trump Barry's long legal career, and while investigating any potential impropriety was absolutely warranted, having that footnote at the end of her resume concluded her work on an undeniably sour note. Despite her attempts to stay out of the limelight that her brother Donald covets so intensely, Maryanne Trump Barry ultimately proved that she was as much of a scandal magnet as the rest of the Trump family.