Trump's Ex-Press Secretary Issued A Dire Warning After He Turned On Kayleigh McEnany
During his first term in office, Donald Trump went through four White House press secretaries who all left their posts in varying degrees of conflict with the former president. The last press secretary to work for the Trump administration was Kayleigh McEnany, who became the subject of Trump's harsh criticism only three years later — a phenomenon that seemed par for the course, according to the penultimate press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.
Donald Trump turned against Kayleigh McEnany in June 2023 after she said her former boss was beating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the polls by 25 points. "Kayleigh 'Milktoast' McEnany just gave out the wrong poll numbers on FoxNews," Trump wrote on Truth Social (via The Hill). "I am 34 points up on DeSanctimonious, not 25 up. While 25 is great, it's not 34. FoxNews should only use REAL Stars!!!"
The former president's (misspelled) accusation of McEnany being milquetoast might have seemed out of left field to some, but not to Stephanie Grisham. She offered a warning to McEnany and anyone else who was considering working for Trump.
Stephanie Grisham warned Kayleigh McEnany (and others) about Trump
Stephanie Grisham was appointed to the dual roles of White House press secretary and communications director in July 2019. She stepped down from her position less than one year later in April 2020. Based on her experience inside Donald Trump's administration, his online attacks against Kayleigh McEnany were nothing out of the ordinary.
"No, it did not surprise me," Grisham told CNN's Jim Acosta on June 3, 2023. "This is what he does. He uses you until there is no use for you anymore or until you dare to say something that could possibly be construed against him." She later added, "I'm not close to a lot of people in Trump world anymore, but I used to count a lot of those people as close friends. I just kept thinking, 'You know this is going to happen to you eventually. When he has no use for you anymore, you're going to be gone.'"
The former press secretary went on to say she knew it wasn't easy for Trump administration members who have jumped ship, given tensions and judgments on either side of the political spectrum. And indeed, she would know. At one point, Grisham was a staunch Trump supporter, even defending the ex-POTUS' decision to call anti-Trump Republicans "human scum" on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The people who are against him ... since the day they took office are just that," Grisham said on a 2019 episode of "Fox & Friends."
Stephanie Grisham had a tempestuous exit from Trump's White House
In yet another example of the unconventionality of Donald Trump's time in office, Stephanie Grisham abruptly left her post without notice, opting instead to serve as former First Lady Melania Trump's Chief of Staff. This, too, was short-lived, and Grisham resigned from the Trump administration altogether following the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Later that year, Grisham released a memoir titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now," which offered a brutally honest perspective of her time in the White House.
During an October 2021 ABC News interview following her book's release, Grisham admitted to regretting her role as the White House press secretary. When asked if she was perpetuating a culture of dishonesty, Grisham replied, "Yes, I was. And I've reflected on that, and I regret that. Especially now when watching him, and so many people, push the false election narrative. I now want to, in whatever way I can, educate the public about the behaviors within the White House because it does look like he's going to try to run in 2024."
Grisham has continued to share her stories and unique perspective on the former president and the people closest to him. From claiming Trump's hush money case is rocking his marriage with Melania to detailing why Prince William and King Charles snubbed Trump, Grisham has no problem telling it like she sees it.