Takeaways from Trump aide's account of chaotic White House

3 years ago 259

NEW YORK – Ferocious tantrums. Family gossip. Petty nicknames.

Stephanie Grisham, erstwhile a White House property caput and main of unit to archetypal woman Melania Trump, is retired with a publication adjacent week that paints a profoundly unflattering representation of Donald Trump — a antheral with a “terrifying” temper who ogled a young adjutant and tried to impressment dictators portion president, she writes.

Grisham, who holds the favoritism of having ne'er held a property briefing portion serving arsenic White House property secretary, charts her way from low-level property wrangler to the Trumps' interior circles, and her gradual disillusionment with the household and eventual resignation pursuing the Jan. 6 insurrection.

As person the galore books captious of Trump, Grisham's “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw astatine the Trump White House” has drawn Trump's ire. He bashed the publication and its writer successful profoundly idiosyncratic terms, saying successful a connection that Grisham was “paid by a extremist left-leaning steadfast to accidental atrocious and untrue things."

Highlights of the publication include:

ON MELANIA TRUMP

Grisham describes the erstwhile archetypal woman arsenic a Marie Antoinette fig who refused to condemn the unit astatine the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6 arsenic Trump's supporters stormed the gathering to effort to halt certification of the 2020 predetermination results.

Grisham writes that she texted Melania Trump arsenic the country unfolded. “Do you privation to tweet that peaceful protests are the close of each American, but determination is nary spot for lawlessness and violence?" she says she asked. She writes that "literally 1 infinitesimal aboriginal and portion she was preparing a photograph sprout of a caller rug she had selected — yes, you work that close — Melania Trump sent maine backmost a one-word response: ‘No.’”

It was a breaking constituent for Grisham, who some praises the erstwhile archetypal lady's off-camera temperament and offers penetration into her peculiarities. She writes that Melania Trump's wont of avoiding nationalist appearances was truthful “extreme” that the “Secret Service unofficially dubbed her ‘Rapunzel’ due to the fact that she remained successful her tower, ne'er descending."

She besides writes that Melania Trump responded to the saga of big movie prima Stormy Daniels and allegations of her husband's infidelity by tweeting a photograph of herself connected the limb of a handsome subject adjutant and insisting astatine 1 constituent that she question alone.

“I bash not privation to beryllium similar Hillary Clinton," Melania Trump reportedly told Grisham. "She walked to Marine One holding the hands with her hubby aft Monica quality and it did not look good.”

ON TRUMP

“His temper was terrifying. And it could beryllium directed astatine anyone, whether helium oregon she deserved it oregon not," Grisham writes. “He questioned people’s confidence, their looks, their quality — immoderate helium thought would bash the astir harm to someone’s psych."

Trump had peculiar contempt, she says, for the White House lawyers. “He didn't similar them telling him that things helium wanted to bash were unethical oregon illegal."

Staff, she recounts, often deceived Trump to debar his wrath, and tried to temper his worst impulses by stalling oregon distracting successful a White House “where everything was similar a clown car connected occurrence moving astatine afloat velocity into a warehouse afloat of fireworks."

#METOO

Grisham writes that, portion serving arsenic property secretary, she noticed Trump “taking an antithetic involvement successful a young, highly charismatic property wrangler" connected her team, asking wherever the pistillate was, whether she would beryllium traveling with him connected overseas trips, and asking Grisham to bring the adjutant to his bureau compartment connected Air Force One.

“Put her connected TV. Keep her happy, beforehand her," she claims Trump would archer her. “Let’s bring her up present and look astatine her ass," she says she was told helium had erstwhile said.

Grisham besides recalls uncomfortable encounters she had with the president, including him noting 1 time that she didn't deterioration pantyhose. On 1 occasion, she writes, helium asked her then-boyfriend whether she was “good successful bed.”

“On inactive different occasion, helium asked maine to scope retired to a salient protagonist successful Arizona. He wanted maine to counsel her to nary longer deterioration sleeveless dresses and tops, saying they weren’t flattering to her and it wasn't ‘a bully look.’”

"You speech to her though,” helium allegedly told her. “I can't with MeToo and all.”

AN AWKWARD CALL

Trump allegedly felt compelled to respond to Daniels' charges astir the size of his genitalia. Grisham says she received an awkward telephone telephone from the president from aboard Air Force One, who assured her that “everything down determination is fine."

“Uh, yes, sir," she says she replied. “Not successful 2 cardinal years had I ever thought I'd person a speech with the president of the United States astir his penis. Thankfully the telephone ended soon aft that.”

DICTATORS

“He ever seemed to privation dictators to respect him,” Grisham writes, pointing successful peculiar to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom unit suspected of arranging for an charismatic interpreter and coughing to propulsion Trump off-guard.

She described 1 brushwood astatine the gathering of the Group of 20 nations successful Osaka successful 2019 erstwhile Trump seemed intent connected placating the Russian leader. “Okay, I’m going to enactment a small tougher with you for a fewer minutes. But it’s for the cameras, and aft they permission we’ll talk. You understand,” she recounts Trump saying.

Grisham besides writes that Trump “frequently said insane things to overseas leaders” that ranged from absurd to disconcerting.

“Trump loved to bid furniture secretaries, staff, oregon whoever other was sitting adjacent him to springiness this dictator oregon that immoderate it was helium wanted," she writes. "I judge helium indispensable person thought it made him look pugnacious and powerful. As for us? We mostly dilatory walked oregon ignored the president and precise seldom did precisely what helium asked.”

JEALOUSY

The publication describes heavy jealousy among unit and wrong the Trump family. Melania Trump had a nickname for Ivanka Trump, the president’s eldest girl and elder White House adviser: “The Princess," she claims.

“Princess ever runs to her father,” Grisham recounted the archetypal woman arsenic often complaining.

Grisham recalls however she and her husband, Jared Kushner, had jockeyed to beryllium portion of an authoritative greeting up of a authorities meal successful the United Kingdom hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

“Jared and Ivanka thought they were the royal household of the United States — connected the aforesaid level arsenic William and Kate successful the United Kingdom," she writes. She besides blames Kushner for Trump's nonaccomplishment past November.

ON HER ROLE

One reason, Grisham writes, that she didn’t privation to clasp ceremonial property briefings was that she knew that ”sooner oregon aboriginal the president would privation maine to archer the nationalist thing that was not existent oregon that would marque maine dependable similar a lunatic.”

Indeed, astatine 1 point, she says, Trump asked her to reenact his “perfect telephone call” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which led to his archetypal impeachment, and “use 2 voices” connected the briefing country “stage.” She writes that Trump besides asked her perpetually whether the property could beryllium removed from the White House.

THE HAIR

Trump’s hair, she writes, “is overmuch longer than I had imagined, similar aggregate inches from extremity to end. He cuts it himself with a brace of immense scissors that could astir apt chopped a ribbon astatine an opening of 1 of his properties.”

And arsenic for his distinctive hue? She says determination was nary tanning furniture successful the White House. “The president’s look was created with constitution that helium enactment connected his look each morning, arsenic if helium were going to beryllium appearing connected a TV show. Which, successful a sense, helium was.”

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