Melania Trump’s Spokeswoman Appointed To Replace Sarah Sanders As Press Secretary
Stephanie Grisham, the woman who has served as Melania Trump’s spokesman for the past two years, has been tapped to replace Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary and communications director. The first lady made the announcement on Tuesday, according to Fox News, via Twitter after it was revealed that Sanders would be leaving the position.
“I am pleased to announce @StephGrisham45 will be the next @PressSec & Comms Director! She has been with us since 2015 – @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,” she wrote.
Earlier this month, Sarah Sanders announced that she would be stepping down as press secretary. In response to the first lady’s tweet, Sanders responded with her support for Grisham with a tweet of her own.
“@StephGrisham45 will be an incredible asset to the President and the country. I’m sad to leave the WH, but so happy to leave our team in such great hands. Stephanie will do a phenomenal job. Proud to have another mom and a great friend in this role,” she wrote.
Grisham is one of the few people to have survived the transition from Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to the White House and has reportedly earned the trust of the Trump family during her time as the first lady’s spokesperson. According to CBS, the Trumps are impressed with how she has run the first lady’s communications, which has a reputation for having fewer leaks than those in the president’s team.
One former White House official called Grisham “the ultimate Trump loyalist.”
JUST IN: Stephanie Grisham, spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, will replace Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary https://t.co/QFjd969huz pic.twitter.com/RNwqTYIuBi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 25, 2019
No word on whether or not Grisham will run the press team as Sanders did. Under Sanders, the televised briefings that many Americans became accustomed to were stopped. Reportedly, President Trump told her to discontinue the briefings because he didn’t like the way that the press covered them. Instead, spokespeople for the White House speak to the press during informal meetings.
Sanders is leaving the White House and returning home to her home state of Arkansas. Her last day is Friday of this week. President Trump has said that he hopes she runs for governor of her state, following in the footsteps of her father Mike Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas. Sanders replaced former press secretary Sean Spicer in 2017.
Grisham will begin her duties as she travels with President Trump to Japan for the upcoming G20 meeting.
