Former first lady Melania Trump had distrusted most of her husband’s inner circle ahead of the Jan. 6 last year, riot on the Capitol, and was outright angry with chief of staff Mark Meadows, according to testimony from ex-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released Thursday.
Melania Trump talks about Kimberly Guilfoyle
Melania Trump was “wary” with the White House legal advisers — including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis — who were leading efforts to overturn the election, Grisham said in the newly released transcripts of her May depositions with the House committee investigating Jan. 6.
She added that those misgivings extended to former President Trump’s son Donald Jr. and his wife Kimberly Guilfoyle, an adviser to the president, telling the panel that Melania Trump “never trusted that they were doing things in the best interest of their — Don Jr’s father.”
But the first lady was “very angry” at Meadows, both for his treatment of Grisham and for giving access to “people who were maybe harmful to the president, giving him bad advice,” according to Grisham.
“And Mrs. Trump never liked it when people would tell Trump what he wanted to hear rather than the truth or the reality of the situation, and she felt that Meadows was always just playing into his hand,” she added.
Grisham was among several members of the Trump administration who met with the Jan. 6 committee multiple times during its investigation. Grisham also revealed that Trump and Meadows wanted to fire White House usher, Timothy Harleth, for being “disloyal” by secretly assisting with President Biden’s transition to the White House, but Melania Trump successfully urged them not to since there was only three weeks left before the inauguration, according to the interview.
