Melania Trump’s right-hand woman may soon take on the role of White House press secretary.
Stephanie Grisham, the East Wing’s spokeswoman, is reportedly leading the pack of candidates to replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Washington Examiner reported. Grisham has won the good graces of the Trump family for her dedication to the Trumps and fierce defense of Melania, who has suffered more hostile press than most first ladies in recent memory.
Sources who spoke with the Examiner indicated that Grisham is believed to have some of the same qualities that made Sanders a good press secretary in the era of Fake News. Most importantly, she won’t take any nonsense from dishonest reporters.
Staunch defender
President Trump announced Sanders’ departure from the White House on Thursday, sparking immediate curiosity as to who might replace Trump’s longest serving, and certainly very controversial, press secretary. Among the candidates up for the job are Grisham, Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, and former State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
If Grisham does get the job, she will enter the role after working as Melania’s defender against Fake News for almost two years. Through that time, Grisham has gained a reputation for ruthlessness with those who attack the first lady, whether from within or outside the White House.
When national security official Mira Ricardel reportedly clashed with Melania in November, Grisham issued a statement saying that Melania’s office decided she “no longer has the honor of serving in the White House.” The statement came without warning to the West Wing, and Ricardel lost her job shortly after.
Like Sanders did for nearly two years, Grisham has sparred with the press when they crossed the president or Mrs. Trump. Sources told the Examiner that Grisham wouldn’t hesitate to “shiv” enemies of the administration, whether they come from the press corps or within the White House. Acting “basically [as] the president’s press and political secret service,” the adviser wouldn’t hesitate to rebuke “reporters being unfair” or White House staffers acting out of line.
“[Grisham] would be fine in front of the podium, and she would be fine on strategic issues. I don’t think Sarah was as sharp as her. Grisham won’t hesitate to slide that knife into someone’s back, which is what you need. This is the White House,” another source said.
Trump loyalist
Sources told the Examiner that Gidley is not considered a strong contender for the job. The fact of the matter is that Grisham has something working strongly in her favor: Trump reportedly wants a woman for the job.
Other women up for the role include Nauert and current State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. But sources told the Examiner that Nauert would likely be ruled out by an ethics issue that forced her to withdraw her name from consideration for U.N. ambassador, namely that she reportedly hired a foreign nanny.
Outside of her work for Melania, Grisham has been a loyal and long-serving member of President Trump’s circle. She started out on working on the Trump campaign in 2015. Before that, she ran her own PR firm and later worked for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
According to the Examiner, she was so dedicated to the Trump campaign that she went almost six months without seeing one of her kids. Grisham went on to join the East Wing staff as a deputy to Sean Spicer, Trump’s first press secretary. She found instant chemistry with Melania when she joined the East Wing as a communications adviser in March 2017, and the two have since developed a high degree of mutual respect.
“She has developed a great amount of trust from both the president and the first lady, which is a pretty high commodity here,” Sanders said of Grisham in December. “There aren’t a lot of people who have a lot of regular interaction with both of them.”
Trump and Sanders abruptly announced the departure of Trump’s long-serving defender against the press on Thursday. Grisham responded in a tweet, calling Sanders “a true pro & a dear friend.”
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