Stephanie Grisham (left), Steve Scalise.Photo: Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg; Samuel Corum/Getty
Louisianan Rep. Steve Scalise is disputing the recollection of ex-Trump aide Stephanie Grisham inher new tell-all.
Grisham is the author ofI’ll Take Your Questions Now, published this week, which has been grabbing headlines for, among other things, its accounts of former First LadyMelania Trump’s attitudes and actions in the White House.
In the book, Grisham, 45, recounts one instance in which she claimsDonald Trump’s wife declined to visit with Scalise, a leading Republican in Congress, at the White House in 2017 soon after Scalisewas shotat a Congressional baseball practice.
As Scalise and his wife were standing in the Blue Room at the White House, Grisham writes, Mrs. Trump was asked if she wanted to speak with them. “Her response was, ‘No, I already said hello,’ " Grisham writes.
Grisham, who served as both the president’s press secretary and the first lady’s spokeswoman and chief of staff, adds that the response became a running joke in the White House: “Whenever the first lady said no to something, we would say to each other, ‘Well, she already said hello!’ "
In a series of statements on Twitter on Monday, Scalise pushed back — insisting Grisham’s account of the events was wrong.
He argued outlets had not done enough fact-checking in sharing details of the book: “The fact they need to stoop so low to make up verifiably false stories about a shooting victim and his family to paint a false picture of the Trumps tells you everything you need to know about their credibility.”
Asked if there was a separate instance in which Scalise himself was at the White House with his wife and Mrs. Trump declined to speak with the couple — as Grisham describes in her book — a spokesperson for the lawmaker told PEOPLE in a statement: “Whip Scalise never went to the White House with his family for an unscheduled visit following his release from the hospital, so Ms. Grisham’s account is entirely false.”
“The only time his family ever went to the White House for an unscheduled visit was in June 2017 while he was still in the hospital — that’s where those pictures are from,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Scalise further clarified: “First LadyMelania Trumpnot only came out to meet my family at the White House, she and the first family also spent time and took pictures with my family in the Red Room, and never even went into the Blue Room, as it was falsely depicted in Stephanie Grisham’s book.”
Scalise continued in his own statement: “The fact that Ms. Grisham needs to make up verifiably false stories about a recovering shooting victim and his family to paint a false picture of President Trump and First LadyMelania Trumpis disgusting, and should tell you everything you need to know about the credibility of this book.”
Stephanie Grisham.Shutterstock
In an appearance Monday onGood Morning America, Grisham said she has regrets about serving in President Trump’s White House.
She continued: “I’ve reflected on that and I regret that. Especially now when watching him, and so many people, push the false election narrative. I now want to, in whatever way I can, educate the public about the behaviors within the White House because it does look like he’s going to try to run in 2024.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Grisham said she and others in the Trump White House got “heady with power” and were more concerned with “surviving” than with serving the country.
“I have no illusions right now that people are suddenly going to think I’m some hero,” she told Stephanopoulos. “That’s not what this is about. This has not been a fun process for me … the left doesn’t like me; the right doesn’t like me. But I have gone back to basics. I have my family and I have my friends. People can take this book for what it is — it’s honest, and that’s all I can say.”
In a previous statement to PEOPLE, Mrs. Trump’s office said: “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.”
source: people.com
