In opioid speech, Trump opens up about his alcoholic brother who kept him away from drugs and alcohol
- President Donald Trump delivered a speech on the opioid epidemic on Thursday.
- He opened up about his older brother, Fred Trump Jr., and his battle with alcoholism.
- Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981. He was 43 years old.
President Donald Trump opened up about his older brother, Fred Trump Jr., who struggled with alcoholism, during a speech he delivered Thursday on the opioid epidemic.
"I had a brother Fred, great guy, best-looking guy, best personality, much better than mine," he said. "But he had a problem, he had a problem with alcohol. And he would tell me 'don't drink, don't drink.' He was substantially older and I listened to him and I respected, but he would constantly tell me 'don't drink.' He would also add 'don't smoke.' But he would say it over and over and over again.
"And to this day, I've never had a drink. And I've had no longing for it. And I have no interest in it. And to this day I've never had a cigarette."
"Don't worry, those are only two of my good things," Trump continued. "I don't want to tell you about the bad things, there's plenty of bad things too. But he really helped me. I had somebody that guided me, and he had a very, very tough life because of alcohol, believe me. Very, very tough, tough life. He was a strong guy but it was a tough, tough thing that he was going through."
He said the lesson he took from his older brother was to abstain from consuming drugs or alcohol, a lesson he said is "so important" to pass on to "young people."
Trump's older brother died in 1981 when he was 43 years old.