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Stephanie Grisham, who once served as White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump, appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program Monday morning, where she spoke candidly about feeling “regret” over enabling a culture of “casual dishonesty” in the White House during Trump’s tenure.
Discussing her new memoir about Trump’s time in office, titled “I’ll Take Your Questions Now,” Grisham explained that the decision for her not to conduct a single press briefing while working in the White House came from the former president himself.
“When we discussed me taking the job, he had already suspended the briefings for about six months under Sarah [Huckabee Sanders]. And he said he didn’t think we needed any more briefings,” Grisham explained. “He spoke to the press two or three times a day directly. So then my job was going to be to work more behind the scenes, with print, with regional and local.”
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Grisham whether she played a role in enabling Trump’s dishonesty toward the press and the American people.
“You were talking about this culture of casual dishonesty at the White House. So you were, even if you weren’t giving press briefings, enabling that culture, weren’t you?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“Yes, I was,” Grisham said. “And I’ve reflected on that and I regret that. Especially now watching him and so many push the false election narrative, I now want to, in whatever way I can … educate the public about the behaviors in the White House because it does look like he’s going to try and run again [for president] in 2024.”
EXCLUSIVE: When asked by @GStephanopoulos if President Trump ordered her not to hold any press briefings when she was White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham says "yes": “He said he didn't think we needed any more briefings.” https://t.co/o3FCyKjxtw pic.twitter.com/SWZ2wybNC9
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 4, 2021
Grisham added that she felt it was a “mistake” to have ever taken the job as press secretary at all.
Grisham served as press secretary from July 2019 until April 2020, when she was replaced by Trump’s final press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. Grisham continued working in the White House, however, serving as chief of staff for Melania Trump until January 6, when she resigned following the attack of the U.S. Capitol building by a mob of Trump loyalists.
The former press secretary, who has become incredibly critical of her former boss in the months after his departure from office, added that the idea of another four-year Trump presidential term is something that scares her.
“I am terrified of him running for president in 2024. I don’t think (Trump) is fit for the job,” Grisham said.
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