(LEAD) Trump was advised by sister to 'leave his Twitter at home' before Singapore summit: book

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details of book in last 2 paras)
By Lee Haye-ah

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump was advised by his older sister to "leave his Twitter at home" before heading to his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, Trump's niece, Mary Trump, wrote of her uncle and aunt in her upcoming book.

According to "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," Trump's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, called the White House in June 2018 to warn her brother about his dealings with Kim ahead of their historic meeting in Singapore, Politico reported.

The author, Mary Trump, is the daughter of the U.S. president's older brother, Fred Trump Jr. Her book is due to be published next Tuesday.

"Tell him his older sister called with a little sisterly advice," Trump Barry told the president's secretary, according to Politico. "Prepare. Learn from those who know what they are doing. Stay away from Dennis Rodman. And leave his Twitter at home."

Rodman, a former NBA star, has visited North Korea multiple times and apparently befriended Kim, an avid basketball fan.

Rodman previously asked Trump to allow him to help improve U.S.-North Korea relations. The two met while appearing on the reality TV show "The Apprentice."

The book describes Trump as a man who is unfit to be president and likely suffering from multiple psychological disorders. The author is a clinical psychologist.

"The likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un 'recognized ... that Donald's checkered personal history and his unique personality flaws make him extremely vulnerable to manipulation by smarter, more powerful men,'" U.S. daily Newsday reported, quoting the book.

Trump's apparent affinity for such leaders was attributed to his relationship with his father, and that with famed lawyer Roy Cohn in the 1980s.

"Fred had also primed Donald to be drawn to men such as Cohn, as he would later be drawn to authoritarians such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un or anyone else, really, with a willingness to flatter and the power to enrich him," Mary Trump wrote, according to CNN.

hague@yna.co.kr
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