Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, will become the next White House press secretary, the first lady tweeted Tuesday.
“@potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country. Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse,” Melania said.
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Grisham will replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who took over after Sean Spicer resigned in 2017 and last week announced she’s leaving the White House at the end of the month. President Trump has repeatedly called on her to run for governor of Arkansas.
News of Sanders’ departure sparked stories about all the times she has lied or misrepresented the truth when speaking to the press.
For example, after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, Sanders said it was because FBI employees had lost faith in him. It later came out in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report that her claim was baseless and was said in the “heat of the moment.”
Grisham is known for being a fierce defender of the first lady. She criticized the media for reporting on a green jacket reading “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” that Trump wore to visit a border patrol facility housing migrant children. Grisham said the jacket lacked any “hidden meaning.”
Melania Trump’s tweet seemed to imply Grisham would also continue to lead communications for the first lady, but it’s unclear whether that’s happening.
Before working for Trump, Grisham worked as Spicer’s deputy press secretary. She was also a spokesperson for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign.
Grisham also served as a spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. During that time, she was present during a 2014 botched execution. The person on death row, a convicted murderer, lived for nearly two hours after the execution began and was left gasping for air. Grisham denied media reports that the execution went awry. She said he “looked to be snoring,” according to an Associated Press report.
“This was my first execution, and I was surprised by how peaceful it was,” Grisham said in an email to the AP at the time. “There was absolutely no snorting or gasping for air.”
Cover image: In this June 21, 2019 photo, Stephanie Grisham, spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, watches as President Donald Trump and the first lady greet attendees during the annual Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
