A tell-all book by President Trump's niece is set to debut at the end of July, but it sounds as if the president may be gearing up for a legal fight. Last week, the Daily Beast reported that, per a source, Trump "appeared irked" at the prospect of Mary L. Trump's Too Much and Never Enough making its way to bookshelves, and he's now speaking out about it to Axios. Trump tells the outlet that his niece, the daughter of his late brother, Fred Trump Jr., is "not allowed to write a book," as she'd long ago signed a nondisclosure agreement, which he adds is a "very powerful one [that] covers everything." The Daily Beast notes the NDA was signed in 2001, when a settlement was reached over Fred Trump's estate. Per the NDA, Mary Trump is barred from publishing anything about the settlement litigation, or about her relationship with President Trump or two of his siblings, Maryanne Trump Barry and Robert Trump.
"She's obviously not honoring [the NDA] if she writes a book," Trump says. "It's too bad." He notes that he gets along fine with Mary Trump's brother, Robert Trump, whom he calls "a very good guy" who's "angry" about his sister's book. One allegation in particular in the book that's said to have the president especially miffed: that when his father, Fred Trump Sr., started really feeling the effects of Alzheimer's, Trump "dismissed and derided" him. "Totally false," Trump tells Axios. "Actually, the opposite. I always had a great relationship. I didn't know that she said that. That's a disgraceful thing to say." White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that Trump hadn't read his niece's book, per CNN. It's not clear what, if any, legal steps the president will take. (More Mary Trump stories.)