Melania Trump refused to condemn chaos at the Capitol and the White House knew about the violence an hour earlier than claimed, former press secretary Stephanie Grisham's new book claims
Former first lady Melania Trump reportedly knew about the January 6 riot earlier than previously thought, and refused to make a public statement denouncing it minutes after supporters of her husband broke into the US Capitol building.
She instead prepared for a photo shoot with a rug she selected, according to an excerpt from former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham's new novel released Monday, promised to be a bombshell tell-all from the only person to serve as a top aide in both the Trump administration's West and East Wings.
At 1:25 p.m. that day, shortly after MAGA rioters breached the Capitol, she sent Melania a text asking if she wanted to condemn violent demonstrations, Grisham writes in the excerpt obtained by Politico.
'Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness and violence?' she asked.
'No.' Melania replied a minute later, according to the book.
Grisham said the response 'broke' her. She quit the White House soon after in protest.
Grisham said Melania Trump's refusal to condemn the violence at the Capitol 'broke' her. She resigned from the White House in protest after the events of January 6
She was serving as the first lady's chief of staff at the time.
The former Trump family confidante said her opinion of her once-good friend shifted to see her more as 'the doomed French queen' Marie Antoinette - 'Dismissive. Defeated. Detached.'
The timing of Grisham's text to Melania also seems to call the White House's timeline of events that day into question.
An hour later on January 6 at 2:24 p.m., former President Donald Trump lambasted his Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter, claiming he 'didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protest our Country and our Constitution.'
Meanwhile, angry Trump supporters were chanting 'Hang Mike Pence' in the halls and outside.
Security video from that day shows Pence and his family being rushed out of the Capitol just two minutes later.
But the White House claimed Trump wasn't aware Pence was in danger.
Grisham's account seems to contradict the White House's claims that former President Donald Trump did not know Vice President Mike Pence was in danger an hour later when he posted a tweet criticizing him
Grisham's memoir, titled 'I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in The Trump White House,' will be published on October 5 by Harper Collins.
Despite the novel's name Grisham did not give a single press conference in her eight-month tenure as White House press secretary.
Grisham also writes she was 'shocked' that Melania shared the former president's view the 2020 election was stolen.
The book will be published October 5
'Something bad happened,' Melania told her in regards to the election, and allegedly refused to listen to Grisham's denials of a grand conspiracy to boot Trump from office.
Melania finally released a statement condemning the Capitol riot on January 11.
'I implore people to stop the violence, never make assumptions based on the color of a person’s skin or use differing political ideologies as a basis for aggression and viciousness,' she wrote.
But in addition to condemning the violence, the former first lady also chose to denounce 'salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me – from people who are looking to be relevant and have an agenda.'
A few days earlier on January 8 her former close friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff published a scathing op-ed lamenting her 'blindness' to 'the depth of her deception and lack of common decency.'
Later on after the attack, Grisham writes, she asked Melania about setting up a traditional inauguration tea with incoming first lady Dr. Jill Biden.
The event had been a longstanding tradition for incoming and outgoing first ladies.
Melania allegedly shrugged the suggestion off and told her to 'see what the West Wing does.'
Melania and Jill's tea never took place.
DailyMail.com has been told Grisham 'knows where all the skeletons' in the Trump White House are.
'She is going for it, telling her truth, and letting the chips fall where they may,' a source close to the publication told DailyMail.com. 'She knows all the skeletons that are in various closets and she's opening doors. But she also has been warned that the Trumps are going to strike back hard.'
Grisham also writes that Melania shrugged off her suggestion of scheduling an inauguration tea with incoming first lady Dr. Jill Biden. Melania Trump broke the longstanding tradition and the Trumps did not meet with the Bidens on inauguration day at all
Grisham was once very close to Melania Trump. The two women would text often and Melania Trump brought Grisham back to the East Wing, keeping her in the Trump White House, after Mark Meadows had her pushed out as press secretary when he became chief of staff.
Since leaving the White House Grisham has stayed quiet, and there were no indications she would write about the Trumps, unlike former aides like Kellyanne Conway, who is also writing about the former president.
'She's kept a low profile deliberately since resigning from the White House. She wanted to process her experience and what it meant. Now she's looking at her experience from a distance and wants people to know what the Trump White House was really like, especially since he's considering a run again,' the publication source said.
Grisham compared Melania Trump to 'doomed French queen' Marie Antoinette
Grisham began working in Trump's presidential campaign in 2015 as a press wrangler.
She followed the Trumps to the White House, joining Melania in the East Wing to over see her communications From June 2019 through April 2020, Grisham served as White House press secretary, before moving back to the East Wing as Melania's chief of staff.
A former West Wing colleague of Grisham's told Axios, which first reported the book's release: 'When I heard this, all I could think about was Stephanie surrounded by a lake of gasoline, striking a match with a grin on her face'.
Her 'top secret' memoir was kept under wraps until its news broke with just a month to go until the release.
A statement sent to Politico by Melania's office blasted Grisham personally and professionally.
'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,' her office wrote.
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