President Donald Trump would occasionally bring up his brother Fred during the presidential race, adding a rare personal tone to an otherwise brash campaign. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Trump shares cautionary tale of his alcoholic brother Fred Trump said Fred would frequently tell him 'don’t drink' and 'don’t smoke.' He said he listened because he respected his brother.

President Donald Trump brought up the memory of his older brother Fred Trump while declaring a national public health emergency on opioids on Thursday, sharing the cautionary tale of how alcoholism had robbed his beloved brother of a successful life.

Trump said his administration will start “a massive advertising campaign” encouraging Americans, especially children, not to use drugs.


“They will see the devastation and the ruination it causes to people and people’s lives,” Trump said. “Watch what happens, if we do our jobs, how the number of drug users and the addicted will start to tumble downward over a period of years. It will be a beautiful thing to see.”

The president said he learned that from his brother, who died an alcoholic in 1981 at age 43. Trump described his brother as a “great guy,” the “best-looking guy” with the “best personality — much better than mine.”

“But he had a problem,” the president said. “He had a problem with alcohol.”

Trump said Fred would frequently tell him “don’t drink” and “don’t smoke." He said he listened because he respected his brother.

“And to this day I’ve never had a drink, and I have no longing for it. I have no interest in it,” Trump said. “To this day, I’ve never had a cigarette.”

Trump would occasionally bring up his brother during the presidential race, adding a rare personal tone to an otherwise brash campaign. On Thursday, he lamented Fred's death, with a bit of levity.

“Don’t worry: Those are only two of my good things. I don’t wanna tell you about the bad things,” he quipped. “There’s plenty of bad things, too. But he really helped me. I had somebody that guided me, and he had a very, 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. But I learned because of Fred. I learned. And that’s what I think is so important.”

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Trump said he can’t empathize with friends who struggle not to take that drink at dinner, adding that he sometimes asks himself, “Why would that be difficult?”

“But we understand why it is difficult. The fact is, if we can teach young people, and people generally, not to start. It’s really, really easy not to take them,” Trump said, referring to drugs. “And I think that’s going to end up being our most important thing. Really tough, really big, really great advertising so we get to people before they start so they don’t have to go through the problems of what people are going through.”