Melania Lashes Out At Former Press Secretary For Tell-All Book, ‘Stephanie Has Secrets About Trump Even the First Lady Doesn’t Know’

To know the Trumps is to hate them, apparently, or at the very least to use them. That’s what Donald and Melania always claim is going on when their misbehavior is chronicled, it’s just some awful person trying to be relevant and make a buck. The latest tell-all book getting ready to hit the stands is by Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s press secretary and ally who then became Trump’s press secretary and never gave a single press conference. Apparently she took the time she might have spent doing her actual job taking notes for her book on the Trumps. It looks to be a humdinger. Here’s Melania weighing in. Politico Playbook:

A statement provided by the office of Melania Trump said: “The intent behind this book is obvious. It is an attempt to redeem herself after a poor performance as press secretary, failed personal relationships, and unprofessional behavior in the White House. Through mistruth and betrayal, she seeks to gain relevance and money at the expense of Mrs. Trump.” (Her mention of “failed personal relationships” appears likely to be a reference to Grisham’s past relationship with former Trump aide MAX MILLER. Citing three people familiar with the incident, POLITICO Magazine reported in July that the relationship “ended when he pushed her against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her.” He denied the allegation.)

Here’s a tidbit on Queen Melania’s reaction to January 6.

At 1:25 p.m. on Jan. 6, soon after rioters had broken through barricades outside of the Capitol, MELANIA TRUMP received a text message from her then-chief of staff, STEPHANIE GRISHAM.

“Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness and violence?” Grisham asked the first lady.

A minute later, Melania replied with a one-word answer: “No.” At that moment, she was at the White House preparing for a photo shoot of a rug she had selected, according to exclusive excerpts of Grisham’s forthcoming book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in The Trump White House,” obtained by POLITICO.

Actually, Melania has the same quality as her hubby. They are both nothing if not predictable. Melania wanted nothing to do with what was happening in the streets, she was busy with a photo op. That makes perfect sense.

Now this is interesting. Melania also thought the election was stolen. She must be dumber than we think. My knee jerk assumption was that Melania knew it was Donald kvetching and wailing, as usual, when he lost. It didn’t occur to me that she was stupid enough to believe the Big Lie. I was wrong.

Grisham, a years-long Trump loyalist who resigned within hours of that text exchange, also writes that she asked Melania a couple times whether she should reach out to JILL BIDEN during the transition to set up the traditional inauguration tea. But instead of setting up the meeting, Melania told her that they should “see what the West Wing does.” The reason, according to Grisham: Melania, like her husband, believed the election was illegitimate. […]

Though it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Melania stood by her husband on important questions like the election, Grisham writes in the book that she was “shocked” to learn that Melania seemed to share DONALD TRUMP’s view that the election was rigged.

Melania told Grisham that “something bad happened” and that the election results weren’t legitimate. She didn’t listen to Grisham when she tried to explain to her that there are small irregularities in all elections but there was no grand conspiracy to unfairly remove Trump from office, according to the book.

I remember Grisham storming off after January 6, quitting without notice. That makes sense now. She was writing her book and that kind of a departure gave her credibility.

Grisham’s book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 5.

A publishing source said that “Stephanie knows she’s stirred up a hornet’s nest with this book.” It includes potentially unflattering nuggets about other officials with whom Grisham tangled during her time in the White House, according to the source. Among them are JARED KUSHNER and MARK MEADOWS, who removed her as White House press secretary, the person said.

“Stephanie has secrets about Trump that even the first lady doesn’t know,” the source said. “Secrets that he doesn’t want her to know. They will be in this book.”

Since news of the book broke late last week, numerous Trump-world figures have contacted Grisham to see how they are depicted in the book or to offer private messages of support, according to the source. Grisham, who is very familiar with how the Trumps operate, is also bracing for a potential smear campaign and legal fight if anyone sues to try to prevent publication. She knows, the source said, that there’s a hunt on to try to get a copy of the book to the Trumps; she’s received calls from people she barely knows asking for an early copy.

Grisham will make out okay on this deal. So far she has. She worked for Melania, she avoided making a fool of herself by attempting an actual press conference, and she reduced her experience in the White House into book form. She’s played her hand well. If the Trumps have a problem with any of this, maybe they should ask who in their right mind would work for them except for personal gain? It’s not like Trump’s press secretaries were cut from the normal cloth or had the normal career trajectories. The entire administration was a freak show, but the center of it was always the press secretary, who was supposed to put lipstick on a pig and make the Trump White House make sense. Right.

Grisham chose her side. Her career choices were talking head on right-wing media or turncoat whistle-blower. She chose the latter. My best guess is that if January 6 didn’t happen, Grisham would have become a talking head on Newsmax. She saw much more money in going rogue. Shrewd decision. She probably even got a publisher on the phone that afternoon. Remember, none of the characters in this passion play in Washington during the Trump years gave a damn about their jobs or the country, they were out for number one. This all makes perfect sense.