Sometime in the summer of 1983, Maryanne Trump Barry asks her brother Donald for a favor: see if Roy Cohn can pull President Reagan’s ear and nominate me for a federal judgeship.
Cohn makes a phone call to Attorney General Ed Meese, and Reagan calls Maryanne on September 13. Maryanne is on the U.S. District Court in New Jersey by the end of October, and Donald Trump has political influence in the state where he’s building casinos.
“He had Roy Cohn call Reagan about needing to appoint a woman as a federal judge in New Jersey,” Barry told Mary. “Because Reagan’s running for reelection, and he was desperate for the female vote.” Then, she said, “I had the nomination,” and Donald Trump never let Barry forget it.
…Cohn had been in regular touch with Reagan. Donald Trump met with Reagan at the White House on Aug. 4, 1983, according to presidential records. Reagan talked with Barry on Sept. 13, 1983, and nominated her the following day, according to Reagan’s daily diary.
“He once tried to take credit for me,” Barry said of her brother, quoting him as saying, “Where would you be without me?”
The Washington Post
External Sources
The Washington Post (Archived)
Mary L. Trump, Too Much and Never Enough, p.134
Photo: Pim Van Hemmen | The Star-Ledger
