While promoting her new book, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has been asked repeatedly why she waited so long to speak up about the Trump administration. But on Monday, she explained why she’s even doing it at all.
“If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t have been there, but obviously, hindsight is 20/20. Obviously, I want to sell books, but I want to sell books so that people can read the entire story and see the context. Again, I was a loyalist and I was a believer and I defended them fiercely. If I can convince five or six other people who were like me that this is not natural and this is not normal and this is a cult-like environment and if you can just step out and clear your head, maybe I can change things,” she told CNN’s John Berman as he grilled her on “New Day.”
Berman wanted to know whether Grisham regretted her time serving under former President Donald Trump or was only interested in capitalizing on her previous roles. Grisham worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign before heading to the White House with him, where she worked in the East and West Wings.
“I made a lot of mistakes in there. I also think that we mitigated a lot of disasters, some of us who did stay,” she added.
Grisham resigned the night of Jan. 6, following the deadly Capitol riot. She was the then-first lady’s chief of staff at the time, having been succeeded as press secretary by Kayleigh McEnany.
Melania Trump’s office issued a statement last month: “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.”
Grisham’s book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now,” is out Tuesday.