Trump’s Lesbian Niece Adds Her Own Shade to 'Crazy Uncle' Comment

One of the standout moments of Thursday night's bizarre and controversial NBC town hall with Donald Trump came when host Savannah Guthrie asked the president why he retweets obviously false and inflammatory conspiracy theories. When he said it was just a retweet, Guthrie fired back, saying he's not "someone's crazy uncle." But if you ask one of Trump's nieces, perhaps she spoke too soon.

During Trump's town hall, which ran opposite one on ABC with Joe Biden, Guthrie said, "Just this week you retweeted to your 87 million followers a conspiracy theory that Joe Biden orchestrated to have SEAL Team Six, the Navy SEAL Team Six, killed to cover up the 'fake' death of Bin Laden. Now, why would you send a lie like that to your followers?"

Trump responded in his classic, nearly incoherent way. "That was a retweet, that was an opinion of somebody, and that was a retweet," he said. "I'll put it out there, and people can decide for themselves."

Guthrie retorted, "It's not like you're someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever." But the internet wasn't so sure that Guthrie was correct.

Political consultant Philippe Reines tweeted, "Need to take issue with @SavannahGuthrie for saying to trump "it's not like you're someone's crazy uncle." @MaryLTrump rebuttal?" Mary Trump is, of course, Donald Trump's lesbian niece and a talented psychologist and author. She's also been an outspoken critic of her uncle's presidency.

Mary Trump had just one word for Guthrie. "Actually...," she commented on her own retweet of Reines's remark.

NBC drew heavy criticism, even from many of its own network stars, for airing the town hall opposite the previously scheduled Biden town hall. With only a few weeks until Election Day, many saw it as an opportunistic ratings grab. Trump had backed out of a debate with Biden scheduled for Thursday when organizers said it would go virtual due to the danger of COVID-19 transmission.