Here’s What We Know About Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s Sister Who Was Found Dead at 86

Donald Trump recently lost a member of his family, his sibling, Maryanne Trump Barry. The late attorney was the former President's elder sister with whom he had a tumultuous relationship towards the end. She died at age 86 at her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with no specific cause mentioned as yet. Although she spoke less in public, some audio recordings revealed that she, too, was critical of her brother as he took over the White House. 

Maryanne was married to John Joseph Barry, who was a New Jersey lawyer, and she, too, served America as a senior judge appointed by President Reagan in 1983 on the US Court of Appeals until her retirement in 2019. On November 13, 2023, Maryanne breathed her last, and according to three anonymous people, police arrived at her home but didn't specify the cause of death, reported The New York Times.

Maryanne was the eldest daughter of prominent New York property developer Fred Trump and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. She first became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1974 and was then moved to the U.S. district court. However, the aforementioned NYT report suggested that Trump's then 'fixer' lawyer, Roy M. Cohn, helped her to move to the federal bench.

President Bill Clinton elevated Maryanne to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1993. However, she stepped down from the role after The Times carried out a tax investigation of the Republican candidate in 2018. The investigation was allegedly aided by her niece, Mary, who had a fallout with her famous family. As per the same NYT report, the late federal judge allegedly benefitted financially, and she also used her position of power to profit her family. 

Prior to her high-profile existence, Maryanne, who was born in 1937 and raised in Queens, N.Y., attended Kew-Forest School. She graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College and received her Master's in Public Law and Government from Columbia University in 1962. Before her second marriage to John, Maryanne tied the knot with her first husband, David Desmond, with whom she welcomed her one and only child: a son named David William Desmond. 

Like any sibling relationship, she initially supported Trump. But eventually, she became scathingly critical of him. Her niece, Mary Trump, had also released audio recordings of her aunt to promote her memoir, and this caused a dent in the brother-sister relationship. However, prior to these recordings, nearly two decades back, she spoke highly of Trump. In 2002, Maryanne said her brother showed up for her whenever she needed him. She recalled, "Six years ago, I had an operation. Donald came to the hospital every single day," reported the New York Magazine. "Once would have been enough—the duty call. That's how love shows when you go that extra yard." 

In the controversial audio recordings, she also accused Donald of having no morals. "All he wants to do is appeal to his base," she said. Maryanne also criticized her brother's immigration policies when he was the US President. "It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel," denounced the late sister. Maryanne continued, "He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this," before adding, "I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy s**t," reported PEOPLE.