Stephanie Grisham | |
---|---|
Chief of Staff to the First Lady | |
In office April 7, 2020 – January 6, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump |
First Lady | Melania Trump |
Preceded by | Lindsay Reynolds |
Succeeded by | Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón |
Press Secretary for the First Lady | |
In office April 7, 2020 – January 6, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump |
First Lady | Melania Trump |
Preceded by | Herself (2019) |
Succeeded by | Michael LaRosa |
In office March 27, 2017 – July 1, 2019 | |
President | Donald Trump |
First Lady | Melania Trump |
Preceded by | Joanna Rosholm |
Succeeded by | Herself (2020) |
32nd White House Press Secretary | |
In office July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | Hogan Gidley |
Preceded by | Sarah Sanders |
Succeeded by | Kayleigh McEnany |
White House Communications Director | |
In office July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Bill Shine |
Succeeded by | Dan Scavino (White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications) |
Personal details | |
Born | Stephanie Ann Sommerville Colorado, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
Dan Marries
(m. 1997; div. 2004) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Colorado Mesa University (no degree) |
Stephanie Ann Grisham[1] (née Sommerville) is an American former White House official who was the 32nd White House press secretary and served as White House communications director from July 2019[1][2][3] to April 2020.[4] She was chief of staff and press secretary for the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump from 2020 to 2021, after previously serving as her press secretary from 2017 to 2019.[5]
Grisham was a press aide to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign,[6][7] and then a member of the presidential transition team.[8][9][10] She was the first White House Press Secretary to hold no press conferences,[11] instead opting for interviews on conservative news outlets.[4][12][13] Grisham assumed the role of chief of staff to the first lady on April 7, 2020.[14]
She resigned on January 6, 2021, following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[5] In September 2021, she announced the publication of her book about her time working in the Trump administration, I'll Take Your Questions Now.[15]
Early life
Stephanie Ann Sommerville was born in Colorado to Robert Leo Sommerville and Elizabeth Ann Calkins. Her parents divorced, and her mother remarried, first to Dave Allen, with whom she had another daughter, and then to Roger Schroder. Grisham came from a farming family.[8][16] She moved with her mother to East Wenatchee, Washington, where she graduated from Eastmont High School in 1994.[1][2] Her mother has since moved to Nebraska, where she is known as Ann Schroder.[17]
Grisham began voting in Arizona as a registered Democrat in 1997.[17] Grisham attended Colorado Mesa University, but did not earn a degree.
Career
Grisham was the spokeswoman for AAA Arizona in 2007,[18] but was fired within a year after being accused of falsifying expense reports.[19] Grisham was fired from a subsequent job at ad agency Mindspace over plagiarism charges, copying AAA material verbatim into her client's web page.[19]
From 2008 to 2010, Grisham worked as a spokeswoman for the Arizona Charter Schools Association.[17][19] There she met Tom Horne, Arizona's superintendent of public schools. From about 2011 to 2014, Grisham was spokeswoman for Tom Horne after he was elected Arizona attorney general.[17] She witnessed the 2014 execution of Joseph Wood and controversially claimed that the two-hour ordeal had been "quite peaceful," contrary to several reports that Wood had "gasped and snorted" throughout his execution.[20][21][22]
After Republican Mark Brnovich defeated Horne in the 2014 GOP primary, Grisham worked as a spokesperson for the Arizona House of Representatives Republican caucus.[17] She revoked the Arizona Capitol Times's press credentials hours after their reporting that the House speaker, David Gowan, had traveled at state taxpayers' expense during his campaign for Congress.[17][23] Reporters refused to comply, and Gowan rescinded the order.[17][19]
In 2012, Grisham also worked for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.[24][6] In September 2015, Grisham worked as a press coordinator for Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia as an independent contractor.[25]
Trump campaign and transition
Circa August 2015, Grisham started working as a press aide to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[6][9] She helped arrange his campaign stops in Phoenix and around the state and region throughout the primary, a role that quickly expanded to include his rallies around the U.S.[9] Grisham was on state payroll until May 2016, when she took an unpaid leave from the Arizona House of Representatives to work on Trump's campaign.[10][26]
After his victory, Grisham was named a special adviser for operations and won a place on Trump's transition team.[9][26][27][28][29] Arizona House speaker David Gowan paid her $19,000 in state salary over an 8-week period while she was serving as a member of the Trump transition team.[10][30]
Trump administration
After Trump's January 2017 inauguration, Grisham was named deputy press secretary for Sean Spicer in the West Wing of the White House.[24][6]
In March 2017, First Lady Melania Trump moved her over to the East Wing.[6][18] A former White House colleague said that the president regretted losing Grisham to the first lady's office because of Grisham's loyalty and skill at handling the press while acting as his traveling press secretary. During that time, she built relationships with many reporters at events. Despite losing Grisham as part of his own staff, President Trump said he was satisfied that the first lady would "be in good hands". Grisham was described by several sources who had worked with her previously as being "highly competent" and "self-aware"; some suggested that she enjoyed "trolling the press".[31]
The United States Office of Special Counsel stated that Grisham violated the Hatch Act of 1939 following a complaint by Senator Tom Carper. Grisham was accused of using her official Twitter account on July 11, 2018, to tweet out Trump's campaign slogan. Violation of the act is not a crime, but a workplace guideline, and the agency responded by sending Grisham a warning letter.[32]
In July 2019, Grisham replaced Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary and White House communications director.[33] Grisham's appointment was announced by Melania Trump via Twitter on June 25, 2019.[6][34] The June 28, 2019 Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel listed Grisham as "Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for the First Lady", with an annual salary of $183,000.[35]
On September 5, 2019, the Washington Examiner published an opinion piece written by Grisham and her deputy Hogan Gidley entitled, "The Washington Post's lost summer".[36] The authors asserted the Post had not reported on several Trump accomplishments that the paper actually did report. In one instance, the piece linked to a Post story entitled "Trump becomes first sitting president to set foot into North Korea" as the authors asserted the paper had not reported the event.[37]
On September 23, 2019, when asked by the hosts of Fox & Friends if the White House planned to resume its daily press briefing, Grisham said "not right now... I mean, ultimately, if the president decides that it's something we should do, we can do that, but right now he's doing just fine. And to be honest, the briefings have become a lot of theater. And I think that a lot of reporters were doing it to get famous. I mean, yeah, they're writing books now. I mean, they're all getting famous off of this presidency. And so, I think it's great what we're doing now."[38]
On October 24, 2019, while again appearing on Fox & Friends, Grisham defended Trump's description of "Never Trump Republicans" as "human scum".[39] When asked if Trump should apologize, Grisham said "No, no, he shouldn't. The people who are against him and who have been against him and working against his [agenda] since the day they took office are just that. It is horrible that people are working against a president who is delivering results for this country and has been since day one. And, the fact that people continue to try to negate anything he's been trying to do and take away from the good work he's doing on behalf of the American people, they deserve strong language like that."[40]
On October 26, 2019, in response to criticism of President Trump by his former chief of staff Gen. John F. Kelly (Ret.) Grisham stated: "I worked with John Kelly, and he was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our President."[41]
On November 13, 2019, during the testimony of William B. Taylor Jr., Grisham commented that the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump was a "sham hearing" that is "not only boring, it is a colossal waste of taxpayer time & money."[42][43]
That same month, Grisham claimed that Obama administration officials had left "you will fail" notes for the incoming Trump administration officials. Numerous Obama administration officials rejected the claim. Grisham ultimately retracted her assertion.[44]
In December 2019, Grisham defended President Trump's implication that former congressman John Dingell was in hell. She described Trump as a "counter-puncher" who was "under attack".[45][46]
On April 7, 2020, it was announced that Grisham left her role as White House Press Secretary and returned to the East Wing to be Melania Trump's chief of staff,[4] effective that same day.[47]
On the evening of January 6, 2021, Grisham resigned from her position as Melania Trump's Chief of Staff following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[5]
On January 5, 2022, Grisham testified to the January 6th Committee.[48] She had testified to them once before, but that testimony was briefer.[49] According to the Guardian, she told the committee that Trump held secret meetings in the White House residence in the weeks before the Capitol attack and that the Secret Service had received a presidential document reflecting Trump's intentions to march to the Capitol on January 6.[50] She testified again on May 18, 2022.[51]
Briefing controversy
Grisham extended to more than a year a period during which there were no formal press briefings, such that there were none during her whole tenure as press secretary.[52][53] However, she appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, One America News Network, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group on many occasions during the same period.[13][53][54]
Anderson Cooper 360° devoted two prime-time segments in one week to question whether taxpayers should pay her $183,000 salary,[53] and to accuse her of hypocrisy.[55] "Miss Grisham has gone from 'we are human beings' to 'they are human scum.' ... It's actually really kind of sad".[56][57][58] Her "unintentionally ironic and deeply hypocritical" social media statements and infrequent televised interviews "appear meant to defend the president but actually point out the president's own failings".[55][59] Margaret Sullivan has commented in The Washington Post that Grisham "may hold the title but she's not doing the job".[54]
Authors Don Winslow and Stephen King pledged to donate $100,000 each to charity if Grisham held a one-hour briefing answering questions from the White House press corps.[54][53] Also, 13 former White House and military press secretaries from three administrations before Trump published a letter calling for the restoration of press briefings.[54][53][60] However, the press briefings never restarted during her tenure.[61]
Personal life
As Stephanie Ann Sommerville, she married Danny Don Marries in Nevada on April 7, 1997.[17][62] They met at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado.[63] Her husband joined KOLD-TV as a news anchor in Tucson, Arizona, on the day after their son's first birthday.[62][63] They divorced in 2004.[17][64][65]
Later in 2004, she married Todd Grisham, then a KOLD sportscaster. They divorced in 2006.[64]
On December 25, 2007, Grisham had a second son, Jake.[62]
In 2019-2020, Grisham dated then-Trump White House aide Max Miller. Politico reported that the relationship ended in 2020 after an argument in which Miller allegedly pushed Grisham up against a wall and slapped her in the face after she accused him of infidelity. Miller has denied the report.[66][67][68] Miller filed a defamation lawsuit against Grisham for the accusations. Grisham moved to dismiss the lawsuit but the Judge, Emily Hagan, dismissed Grisham’s motion. [69]
Incidents of driving while intoxicated
On January 9, 2013, Grisham was pulled over for speeding in Gilbert, Arizona. The officer observed Grisham's signs of intoxication, and she failed a field sobriety test. Grisham denied consuming any alcohol, but said she had taken a Xanax 90 minutes earlier and a Zoloft the prior night. A blood test revealed Grisham's blood alcohol content to be .105 percent, which is above the .08 legal limit in Arizona. She also was found to be driving on a suspended license since August 2012 for failure to answer a traffic citation. In August 2014, Grisham accepted a plea bargain agreement that reduced the charge to misdemeanor reckless driving, plus two years of probation.[17][7][70] She returned to court twice for failure to pay the $779 in fines and failure to complete a Mothers Against Drunk Driving program.[17]
Shortly after midnight, December 5, 2015, Grisham was arrested again in Phoenix, Arizona, for driving without her headlights on and suspicion of driving under the influence, violating her probation.[17] Grisham failed to appear at her court hearing on January 19, 2016,[17] whereupon the judge issued a warrant for her arrest.[70] Afterwards, Grisham pleaded guilty. In July 2016, she was ordered into a treatment program and to pay nearly $1,600 in court costs and fines.[17][7][19][70]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 FitzSimmons, Cal (June 25, 2019). "Eastmont graduate named new press secretary for President Trump". NCW Life Channel. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- 1 2 Carroll, Megan (June 25, 2019). "New White House press secretary has ties to East Wenatchee". KREM (TV). Associated Press. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ↑ Pappas, Alex (June 25, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham to be the new White House Press Secretary". FoxNews.com. Fox News. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- 1 2 3 Collins, Kaitlan Collins; Bennett, Kate (April 7, 2020). "Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing". CNN. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- 1 2 3 Bennett, Kate (January 7, 2021). "First lady's chief of staff and former WH press secretary resigns over violent protests". CNN. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bach, Natasha (June 14, 2019). "Who Is Stephanie Grisham? She Just Replaced Sarah Sanders". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- 1 2 3 Rogers, Katie; Karni, Annie (June 25, 2019). "Trump Names Stephanie Grisham, Aide to First Lady, as Sarah Sanders's Successor". New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- 1 2 Farhi, Paul (August 28, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham is Trump's communications czar. Only most people wouldn't know it". Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne (January 19, 2017). "This Arizonan is going to the White House to work for Donald Trump". The Republic. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- 1 2 3 Howard, Andrew (June 25, 2019). "Trump taps Stephanie Grisham as White House spokeswoman". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ↑ "The short, strange tale of Stephanie Grisham, Trump's third - and invisible - press secretary". Washington Post. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ↑ Johnson, Ted (April 7, 2020). "Stephanie Grisham Departs As White House Press Secretary". Deadline. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- 1 2 Darcy, Oliver (November 11, 2019). "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has yet to hold a briefing with reporters, but finds time for Fox News". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ "White House spokeswoman Grisham switches to first lady's staff". Reuters. April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ↑ Kim, Lisa (September 28, 2021). "All The Surprising Trump Revelations In Ex-Press Secretary Grisham's New Book". Forbes. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ↑ Hansen, Ronald J. "Stephanie Grisham's unlikely path from Arizona politics to White House press secretary". azcentral. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne; Hansen, Ronald J (June 27, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham's unlikely path from Arizona politics to White House press secretary". Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- 1 2 Smith, Dylan (March 27, 2017). "Ex-Tucsonan named spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump". Tucson Sentinel. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Williamson, Elizabeth (August 22, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham's Turbulent Ascent to a Top White House Role". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019.
- ↑ Pearce, Matt; Carcamo, Cindy; Srikrishnan, Maya (July 23, 2014). "Arizona killer takes 2 hours to die, fueling lethal-injection debate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ Pierce, Charles P (July 24, 2014). "It's Time to End Our State-Sponsored Barbarism". Esquire. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne; Hansen, Ronald J (June 25, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham, new White House press secretary, had controversial Arizona career". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ↑ Small, Jim (April 8, 2016). "This new background check policy is only the latest retaliation from Gowan's House". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
- 1 2 Lake, Kari (June 25, 2017). "Single mother from the Valley working for the Trump White House". fox10phoenix.com. KSAZ-TV. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ Pitzl, Mary Jo (September 26, 2015). "Arizona House spokeswoman prepping for the pope". The Republic. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- 1 2 "Trump Names House PR Person To Staff, Treasurer As Adviser". KNAU. Associated Press. December 1, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Schedule B for ALL Line". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Schedule B for Line". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Schedule B for ALL Line". docquery.fec.gov. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ Stephenson, Hank (April 25, 2017). "FLOTUS spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham on state payroll while on Trump's victory tour and transition team". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
- ↑ Markay, Lachlan (August 7, 2018). "The White House Won't Stop Melania From Contradicting Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- ↑ Hutzler, Alexandra (October 9, 2018). "Melania Trump's Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham Violated Hatch Act With 'Make America Great Again' Tweet". Newsweek. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ↑ Holland, Steve (June 25, 2019). "Longtime Trump aide Stephanie Grisham will succeed Sanders as press secretary". Reuters. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Bennett, Kate (June 25, 2019). "Trump taps Melania Trump's spokeswoman as next White House press secretary". CNN. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ↑ "Annual Report to Congress on White House Personnel" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. Executive Office of the President. June 28, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2021.
- ↑ Grisham, Stephanie; Gidley, Hogan (September 5, 2019). "The Washington Post's lost summer". Washington Examiner. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ↑ Mannion, Connor (September 6, 2019). "Stephanie Grisham Claims Washington Post Didn't Cover Stories the Paper Actually Did Cover". Mediaite. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ↑ Forgey, Quint (September 23, 2019). "White House press secretary says daily briefings aren't coming back any time soon". Politico. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Trump, Donald J. (October 23, 2019). "The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats. Watch out for them, they are human scum!". @realDonaldTrump. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Musto, Julia (October 24, 2019). "Press secretary Grisham on Trump's 'human scum' tweet: Those working against him are 'just that'". Fox News. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Semones, Evan (October 26, 2019). "White House hits back at John Kelly over impeachment remarks". Politico. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Bennett, John T (November 13, 2019). "White House says Trump 'too busy' to watch 'boring' impeachment hearing". Roll Call. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ↑ "Full Video and Analysis of Day 1 of Impeachment Hearing Testimony". New York Times. November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ↑ Gabbatt, Adam (November 20, 2019). "Trump press secretary backtracks claim Obama officials left 'You will fail' notes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- ↑ "White House defends Trump as 'counter-puncher' after he suggests late Michigan congressman in hell". ABC News. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ↑ Fredericks, Bob (December 19, 2019). "White House defends Trump's attack on dead lawmaker John Dingell". New York Post. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ↑ Zilbermints, Regina (April 7, 2020). "Grisham leaves role as White House press secretary". The Hill. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ↑ Alexander, Peter; O'Donnell, Kelly; Shabad, Rebecca (January 6, 2022). "After meeting with Jan. 6 committee, former Trump press secretary Grisham says she 'cooperated fully'". NBC News. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ↑ Vakil, Caroline (May 19, 2022). "Ex-Trump aide Grisham on Jan. 6 questioning: Probe 'headed in a good direction'". The Hill. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ↑ Lowell, Hugo (January 20, 2022). "Trump held secret meetings in days before Capitol attack, ex-press secretary tells panel". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ↑ "Transcript of Stephanie Grisham's interview with House January 6 committee (Released December 29, 2022)". DocumentCloud. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ↑ Cillizza, Chris (March 11, 2020). "Make sure to remember this appalling 1-year anniversary". The Point with Chris Cillizza. CNN. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Grynbaum, Michael M.; Rogers, Katie (January 10, 2020). "Stephanie Grisham: Trump's Press Secretary Who Doesn't Meet the Press". New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Sullivan, Margaret (January 11, 2020). "Stephanie Grisham is not the worst-ever White House press secretary. Here's why". Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- 1 2 Cooper, Anderson (January 10, 2020). "Cooper to WH press sec.: Your secret is safe with us". CNN. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ↑ Cooper, Anderson (January 7, 2020). "Cooper calls out White House over lack of press briefings". CNN. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ Moran, Lee (January 7, 2020). "Anderson Cooper Nails Hypocrisy Of Trump Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham". HuffPost. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ↑ Tenbarge, Kat (January 7, 2020). "Anderson Cooper doubled down in his feud with White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, calling her statements 'kind of sad'". Business Insider. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ Moran, Lee (January 10, 2020). "Anderson Cooper Has A Theory About Stephanie Grisham Secretly Working Against Trump". HuffPost. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ↑ "Why America needs to hear from its government". CNN. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ Gearan, Anne; Dawsey, Josh (April 7, 2020). "Stephanie Grisham out as White House press secretary after eight months during which she held no regular news briefings". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- 1 2 3 McBride, Jessica (June 26, 2019). "Is Stephanie Grisham Married? Learn About Her Ex Husband". Heavy.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- 1 2 Burch, Cathalena E (July 7, 2013). "'We've said our goodbyes:' KOLD anchor posts his pain". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
- 1 2 Smith, Dylan (June 25, 2019). "Ex-Tucsonan Grisham named press secretary for President Trump". TucsonSentinel.com. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ↑ Walters, Gillian (July 3, 2019). "The Untold Truth of Stephanie Gresham". Nicki Swift. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- ↑ Kruse, Michael (July 28, 2021). "'He's a Great Guy': Trump's Favored Aide Has Troubled Past". Politico Magazine.
- ↑ Exner, Rich (April 26, 2021). "Ohio loses a congressional seat in apportionment from census 2020 results". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ↑ Rogers, Katie (September 28, 2021). "Stephanie Grisham's Book Details Trump's 'Terrifying' Temper". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ↑ Cory Shaffer, cleveland com (October 5, 2021). "Ex-Trump staffer Max Miller files defamation lawsuit against Stephanie Grisham over abuse allegations". cleveland. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Like So Many Of His Associates, Donald Trump's New Press Secretary Has Posed For Some Mug Shots". The Smoking Gun. August 28, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.