Report: 'Melania Trump's Enforcer' Is Front-Runner To Replace Sarah Sanders
As White House press secretary Sarah Sanders prepares to depart, speculation is rampant over who will succeed her next month, with one published report suggesting the new press secretary will come from the East Wing of the White House.
A report in The Daily Wire, drawn from comments made to it by unnamed sources, gives front-runner status to Stephanie Grisham, who serves as director of communications for first lady Melania Trump.
Grisham was additionally named one of Sanders’ potential replacement by Politico, which put her “at the top of the shortlist of candidates.”
Politico also cited Tony Sayegh, a former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department, deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley and former State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as possible individuals who might follow Sanders.
Grisham “has proven herself to be a stone-cold killer” The Daily Wire quoted what it said was a “source close to the White House” as saying. The source said “no one else comes close” to her ability to solve problems.
Grisham would be “risk-free move for the administration in the run-up to perhaps the most important election in American history,” the source told The Daily Wire.
Stephanie Grisham, the White House Director of Communications for first lady Melania Trump, has been a loyal soldier fighting to advance Trump’s agenda dating all the way back to his first month on the campaign trail when she was a low-level press staffer. https://t.co/y3JxwvmjyV
— Hasai (@hasai) June 14, 2019
“Grisham is pure Trump,” the source said. “She holds down the East Wing with ease and has no loyalties to any faction within the Republican Party. Members of the first family love her and know that she is fiercely dedicated and loyal.”
A source The Daily Wire referred to as “a Trump ally close to the president and the Trump family” portrayed Grisham as a favorite in the Trump family, the media and many Trump loyalists.
“The first lady loves Stephanie’s tenacity and loyalty, and President Trump has remarked that he respects Stephanie’s ability to stay cool under pressure and manage the toughest of news cycles,” the source said.
“Stephanie might not be the first name that comes to mind for this role, but she’s the one person inside or outside the building who everyone nods their head and says, ‘She’d be great.'”
Another source, which The Daily Wire said was “a former high-level Trump administration official,” touched on what for the president is a major consideration — loyalty.
“She’s been with him since the beginning, is unquestionably loyal and has the respect of the press corps. She’d be a total home run as press secretary — both for the president and his supporters,” the source said.
In a 2018 story in The Washington Post that referred to Grisham as “Melania Trump’s enforcer,” Sanders praised Grisham’s work.
“During the campaign she developed a good relationship with the president, and that’s carried through,” Sanders said then.
“She has developed a great amount of trust from both the president and the first lady, which is a pretty high commodity here,” Sanders said. “There aren’t a lot of people who have a lot of regular interaction with both of them.”
Grisham had kinds words for Sanders on Thursday as word of the press secretary’s departure emerged.
.@PressSec @SarahHuckabee is a true pro & a dear friend. I will miss her sincere love of country & great sense of humor at the @WhiteHouse – no matter what the future holds, I wish her (and her beautiful family) the very best! ?? https://t.co/9svwyjRvpO
— Stephanie Grisham (@StephGrisham45) June 13, 2019
Grisham drew praise, but no commitment to put her in the post, from President Donald Trump on Friday during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“Stephanie is terrific,” Trump said. “We have a lot of great people. We have a lot of people to choose from.”
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