Jun 27, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Mary Trump joining Biden's debate spin room

Erin Doherty

Mary L. Trump speaks during Jim Owles Winter Pride Gala Award Ceremony at Hard Rock Cafe - Times Square on January 20, 2023 in New York City. — Mary L. Trump speaks at Hard Rock Cafe in 2023 in New York City. Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImages

Former President Trump's estranged niece, Mary Trump, will join President Biden's debate spin room, the campaign said Thursday.

Why it matters: The Biden campaign is seeking to cast Trump as unfit for office by highlighting criticisms from people who were once in his inner circle — or in this case, someone who shares his last name.

A video on Biden's X account earlier Thursday featured criticisms from former members of Trump's administration, or "people who know Donald Trump best."

Driving the news: "On the subject of character, few people can speak to Donald Trump's better than his family," a Biden campaign official said of Mary Trump's attendance.

Mary Trump, a vocal critic of her uncle and the former president, said in a statement that she is in Atlanta for the debate "to remind everyone who Donald is as a person and how he would rule as a president."
"We cannot afford to allow Donald Trump anywhere near the levers of power again," she said, adding that she "witnessed my uncle's narcissism and cruelty" her whole life.

Zoom out: The Biden campaign said that six other surrogates will be in the spin room on behalf of the president, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and former Atlanta Mayor and Biden-Harris 2024 senior adviser Keisha Lance-Bottoms.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond to a question about who will be in the spin room on behalf of the former president.

Go deeper: Biden and Trump set for first showdown since 2020

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Mary Trump joining Biden's debate spin room

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