“I see it paralleling the way my grandfather’s decline was,” Fred Trump says of Donald’s recent behavior. “If anyone wants to think that dementia didn’t exist in the Trump family, that’s simply not true”

Donald Trumphis grandson Fred C. Trump III opens up about his family’s often-overlooked history of dementia — and how his uncle’s recent behavior reminds him of other Trumps who have faced cognitive health challenges, including Donald’s father.

“Like anyone else, I saw his decline. But I see it paralleling the way my grandfather’s decline was,” Fred, 61, tells PEOPLE of Donald, 78, who at times downplayed his father’s symptoms. “If anyone wants to think that dementia didn’t run in the Trump family, that’s simply not true.”

As Election Day nears, Fred says it’s “frustrating” how speculation about the mental abilities of the candidates this election cycle hasn’t involved a closer look at their family history. “People (who don’t know the candidates) would diagnose, if you will, Biden, and they would diagnose Donald, I’ve never heard anybody say, ‘Oh, let’s look at the family history of either of these two people”. “

The former president’s campaign dismissed the following interview as “completely fabricated fake news.”

Fred’s first brush with a loved one showing signs of dementia came when his namesake grandfather, Frederick Christ Trump Sr.he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He says Donald’s cousin John Walter also had dementia and Donald’s late sister, Maryanne Trump Barryhad similar symptoms before her death last yearalthough never diagnosed.

Fred recalls his grandfather’s decline beginning in the 1980s, “with some of the similar stories you hear over and over again, that when his limousine pulled up, he would get out of the car and start driving.”

Fred Sr.’s behavior became the norm for those around him, his grandson says. “You know, things where you almost go, ‘Oh, there’s Grandpa again.’ “

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“You have to understand,” adds young Fred, “he still went to work every day – that was part of it.”

Fred Sr.’s continued employment “was to give my grandmother (Mary Anne MacLeod Trump) a rest and not have him around the house,” he tells PEOPLE. “My grandmother used to call it the 36-hour day, being around my grandfather, who had the onset of Alzheimer’s.”

Fred – who described his experience growing up in the Trump dynasty in his recent book, All in the Family: The Strengths and How We Got That Way — recalls that his grandfather “became a little more agitated” as his condition worsened.

“He was yelling, and I witnessed it, yelling at my grandmother for spending too much money,” Fred says, recalling that money was not a concern for Fred Sr. The behavior “just kept escalating and escalating, until to the point where the doctors would say to my grandmother, “You really shouldn’t be staying in the same bedroom with him at night.” “

Fred, the son of Donald’s late brother Fred Trump Jr., clarifies that he never saw or heard his grandfather become physically violent with his grandmother, but instead “hectic in his language and vicious.”

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He also claims that Donald’s sister Maryanne appeared to be showing signs of dementia before her death on November 13, 2023.

“One of the last times I saw Maryanne, she said, ‘You know, I’ve only met your wife Lisa once.’ And I was kind of amazed by that… I said, “Well, you’ve actually met Lisa hundreds of times in the almost 40 years that you’ve known her, as long as I’ve known her “. “

Recalling his grandfather’s experience with dementia, Fred claims to have witnessed similarities in recent years with his uncle Donald, who has not published any recent medical records because the oldest presidential candidate in US history.

One particular interaction jumps to the forefront of Fred’s mind, as an example, when he met Donald at Mar-a-Lago in 2023.

“He seemed disoriented and kept repeating something to me over and over when I met him,” Fred tells PEOPLE. “He kept repeating things and looking different. He looked tired.”

Fred says he noticed his uncle also had “no inhibitions about cursing in front of anybody” more recently, and while he admits “Donald always swore”, his nephew describes the former president’s recent communication as “of – downright unpleasant”.

Related: Fred Trump III Says Kamala Harris’ Rise Is Driving Uncle Donald ‘Absolutely Crazy’: ‘It’s Gonna Get Ugly’ (Exclusive)

Fred, who decided to return Kamala Harrispresidential campaign, explains: “I always have to give it up, I’m not a neurologist, I’m not a psychologist, I’m not a doctor. But based on his own family experiences, he says, “I see traits with Donald that are unfortunate.”

Remembering the first time Donald met Fred’s son William, who has complications from a rare genetic mutationFred says Donald dismissed Lisa’s explanation of William’s condition.

“When Lisa and I went to see Donald and he said, ‘Well, what’s wrong with William?’ And Lisa says, “Well, he’s got a problem with one of his genes, a genetic mutation,” and Donald immediately says, “Not our genes.” “Fred claims. “He can never admit that there is any mental or physical defect with anyone in the family.”

Related: Donald Trump’s Nephew Fred Endorses Kamala Harris For President After Making Bombshell Allegations Against Uncle

Donald’s nephew — who claims in his book that the former president once told him Americans with disabilities ‘should die’ because of his “spending” and “the shape he’s in,” which Donald’s campaign has adamantly denied — tells PEOPLE he thinks the former president is probably playing the “old engineered thing” by denying any flaws in his family’s medical history.

“He can never open the negative door on the family,” says Fred. “Because if he admitted that my grandfather had dementia, well, that’s almost admitting that he has the possibility of dementia.”

In a statement responding to Fred’s criticism, Donald told PEOPLE that he has given his grandson a lot of support, “more than anyone else in his life, and that’s the thanks I get.” Donald’s son Eric added in a statement that his cousin’s claims were “rubbish”.

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The potential for Americans to once again elect Donald to the White House without certainty about his cognitive health worries Fred, following a series of public mishaps on the campaign trail in which the former president mixed up the names of world leaders, and- he muddled the discourse and relied on increasingly violent rhetoric about his opponents.

“My grandfather, unfortunately, threatened my grandmother (late in his life), and that was horrible. And I witnessed it,” says Fred. “But my grandfather didn’t make any decisions that had worldwide implications. The biggest implication is: “My grandmother sleeps in another bedroom to stay away from him when he walks around the house at two o’clock. morning? “

But for Donald, he adds, “this is potentially the most important person in the world.”