The contest to replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders may have an early favorite. Stephanie Grisham, spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, is a top contender to fill Sanders’ shoes as White House press secretary, the Washington Examiner reported. Grisham is a loyal and fierce defender of the first lady and the Trump family. Also, Trump reportedly wants a woman to replace Sanders.
“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,” a source told the Examiner.
A strong contender
Last week’s abrupt announcement that Sanders would leave the White House triggered immediate speculation about her replacement. Grisham was immediately named as a potential candidate among several names from within and outside the Trump White House.
Whomever Trump picks, he’ll likely want somebody resilient and combative who will stand up to the constant negative press directed at his family and administration. Enter Grisham.
According to the Examiner, Grisham has earned the admiration of the Trump family for her loyalty to Melania and the first family. The communications adviser reportedly got a national security official, Mira Ricardel, fired in November after she clashed with the first lady.
Sources told the Examiner that Grisham, who has been with the Trump White House since the campaign, has the toughness to deal with back-stabbers in the White House — as well as front-stabbers in the press corps. Grisham wouldn’t hesitate to clash with “reporters being unfair” and “people in the administration doing things they shouldn’t.”
“She handles herself well on TV, but the press secretary job has turned more into a comms role than a press role. And there are some people who are good on camera but not so good at communications strategy. She’s a killer on both fronts.”
Throughout the tenure of Sanders, the press secretary role evolved from a traditional news briefing job into more of a PR role. Reporters complained that Sanders cut the number of press briefings, which themselves became sparring sessions between Sanders and the press. Trump told Sanders to stop briefings this year because “the press covers her so rudely & inaccurately.”
Trump wants a woman for the job
Sources told the Examiner that Trump wants a woman to replace Sanders. Other female candidates who have been mentioned include former State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, and Fox news personalities including Fox and Friends host Ainsley Earhardt. “When he says he wants a woman, he wants a woman,” a source told the Examiner.
Nauert withdrew her name from consideration after Trump nominated her to be U.N. ambassador after negative reports surfaced revealing she had hired a foreign nanny. Sources told the Examiner that Nauert would likely not succeed Sanders for the same reason.
Other possible candidates for the job include Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley and outgoing Treasury spokesman Tony Sayegh. But sources told the Examiner that Gidley isn’t a strong candidate, with one saying that Sayegh is the “best” choice, but he isn’t a woman.
President Trump abruptly announced Sanders’ departure, scheduled for the end of the month, on Thursday. The president joined his longtime defender against the “Fake News” for a tearful farewell at the White House.
Trump thanked his “warrior” for a job well done and jokingly encouraged her to run for governor of Arkansas. Sanders didn’t write off the possibility, but said that she planned to return home to focus on her family for now.
Sanders was Trump’s second and longest-serving press secretary. While news of her departure was met with celebration among journalists who complained that her combative approach with the press was authoritarian, Sanders has earned the lasting respect of many for her resilience in standing up to an unprecedently hostile and dishonest media establishment.
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