Grisham says it was ‘mistake’ to work for Trump

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Monday said it was a mistake to work for former President Trump.

When asked during an interview with host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America” if it was a mistake to work for the former president, Grisham, without hesitation, responded “yes.”

When pressed on why she decided to join Trump’s team, Grisham — who served as press secretary for nine months before moving to a position in former first lady Melania Trump’s office — said she believed Trump had given a voice to people who were forgotten but that over time she and others in the White House “got heady with power.”

“We didn’t think about serving the country anymore, it was about surviving in there,” Grisham said, adding that Trump “loved the chaos.”

EXCLUSIVE: Stephanie Grisham breaks her silence about what she saw inside the Trump White House.

When asked by @GStephanopoulos if it was a mistake to work for President Trump, Grisham says “yes.” https://t.co/o3FCyKjxtw pic.twitter.com/KX2BwzR6BU

— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 4, 2021

Grisham’s comments come one day before her new book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House,” is set to be released. For the past week, excerpts from the book published by a number of news organizations have showcased stunning revelations about key individuals in the White House, including the former president, the former first lady, Trump’s daughter and former White House adviser Ivanka Trump and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

Grisham’s tenure as White House press secretary is notable for never having a formal press briefing, something she now says she regrets.

The former press secretary told Stephanopoulos that Trump told her upon taking the job that he did not think more briefings were needed, meaning her job would focus on behind-the-scenes communication with news organizations.

When pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether she enabled a culture of casual dishonesty in the White House by never holding a formal briefing, Grisham agreed.

She said she is starting to believe that Trump will wage another bid for the presidency in 2024, pointing to the fact that he is the GOP front-runner and that a number of Republicans have shown fealty to him.

She said, however, that she hopes her former boss does not run again. She said a second Trump term would be about revenge because he will not have to worry about reelection.

“He will probably have some pretty draconian policies that go on,” Grisham said. “There were conversations a lot of times that people would say, ‘That’ll be the second term, that’ll be the second term,’ meaning we won’t have to worry about, you know, a reelection.”

Trump has not yet announced plans for a 2024 presidential campaign, but he has been publicly flirting with throwing his hat in the ring. In July, he told Fox News’s Sean Hannity during an interview that he has made a decision on if he will run for president again in 2024 but did not reveal any plans.

Grisham, when asked what she would say to Trump if he were sitting at the interview table, said she would ask him not to run in 2024.

Trump, in a statement to The Hill last week, attacked Grisham after excerpts from her book were published, writing that she “didn’t have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning.”

“She became very angry and bitter after her break up and as time went on she was seldom relied upon, or even thought about. She had big problems and we felt that she should work out those problems for herself. Now, like everyone else, she gets paid by a radical left-leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things,” Trump added.

The Hill has reached out to Trump for comment on Grisham’s remarks to ABC.