Stephanie Grisham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stephanie Grisham
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Grisham in 2019
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| Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States | |
| In office April 7, 2020 – January 6, 2021 |
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| 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 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| First Lady | Melania Trump |
| Preceded by | Herself (2019) |
| Succeeded by | Michael LaRosa |
| In office March 27, 2017 – July 1, 2019 |
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| 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 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Hogan Gidley |
| Preceded by | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
| Succeeded by | Kayleigh McEnany |
| White House Communications Director | |
| In office July 1, 2019 – April 7, 2020 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Bill Shine |
| Succeeded by | Kate Bedingfield |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Stephanie Ann Sommerville
July 23, 1976 Colorado, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Dan Marries
(m. 1997; div. 2004) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Colorado Mesa University (no degree) |
Stephanie Ann Grisham (born July 23, 1976) is an American former official who worked in the White House. She served as the 32nd White House press secretary and also as White House communications director from July 2019 to April 2020. Before that, she was the chief of staff and press secretary for the first lady, Melania Trump, from 2020 to 2021. She had also been Melania Trump's press secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Grisham was a press aide for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. After the election, she joined the presidential transition team. She was the third White House press secretary under President Trump. Unlike previous press secretaries, she did not hold regular press conferences. Instead, she often gave interviews to news outlets. Grisham became chief of staff to the first lady on April 7, 2020.
She left her role on January 6, 2021, shortly after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. In September 2021, she announced her book, I'll Take Your Questions Now, which shares her experiences working in the Trump administration.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Stephanie Ann Sommerville was born in Colorado. Her parents were Robert Leo Sommerville and Elizabeth Ann Calkins. After her parents divorced, her mother remarried. Stephanie came from a farming family. She moved with her mother to East Wenatchee, Washington, and graduated from Eastmont High School in 1994.
Grisham started voting in Arizona as a registered Democrat in 1997. She later became a Republican after 2007.
Career in Public Relations
From 2008 to 2010, Grisham worked as a spokeswoman for the Arizona Charter Schools Association. There, she met Tom Horne, who was Arizona's superintendent of public schools. From about 2011 to 2014, Grisham was a spokeswoman for Tom Horne after he became Arizona attorney general.
After Mark Brnovich won against Horne in the 2014 Republican primary, Grisham worked as a spokesperson for the Arizona House of Representatives Republican group. She changed the rules for press credentials for reporters. She required all reporters to have a background check to get press credentials. This rule was later changed back.
In 2012, Grisham also worked for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. In September 2015, she worked as a press coordinator for Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia.
Working with Donald Trump
Around August 2015, Grisham began working as a press aide for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. She helped organize his campaign events across the U.S. She took a leave from her job at the Arizona House of Representatives to work full-time on Trump's campaign.
After Trump won the election, Grisham was named a special adviser for operations. She also joined Trump's transition team.
In the Trump Administration
After Trump became president in January 2017, Grisham was first named deputy press secretary for Sean Spicer in the West Wing of the White House.
In March 2017, Melania Trump asked Grisham to join her team in the East Wing. People who worked with Grisham said she was very capable and good at dealing with the press. President Trump was happy that the first lady would "be in good hands" with Grisham.
The United States Office of Special Counsel stated that Grisham used her official Twitter account to tweet a campaign slogan on July 11, 2018. This was a violation of the Hatch Act of 1939, which sets rules for federal employees' political activities. She received a warning letter.
In July 2019, Grisham took over from Sarah Sanders as White House press secretary and White House communications director. Melania Trump announced Grisham's new role on Twitter on June 25, 2019. The official report listed Grisham with an annual salary of $183,000.
On September 5, 2019, Grisham and her deputy Hogan Gidley wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Examiner. They discussed how some news outlets reported on President Trump's achievements.
On September 23, 2019, Grisham was asked on Fox & Friends if the White House would start daily press briefings again. She said "not right now." She explained that the briefings had become "a lot of theater" and that some reporters were using them to become famous.
On October 24, 2019, Grisham appeared on Fox & Friends again. She defended President Trump's strong words about people who opposed him. She said that those working against the president "deserve strong language."
On October 26, 2019, Grisham responded to criticism from former chief of staff John F. Kelly. She stated that Kelly was "totally unequipped to handle the genius of our President."
On November 13, 2019, during the testimony of William B. Taylor Jr., Grisham called the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump a "sham hearing." She said it was "not only boring, it is a colossal waste of taxpayer time & money."
That same month, Grisham claimed that officials from the previous administration had left "you will fail" notes for the incoming Trump team. Many former officials denied this claim, and Grisham later said her assertion was incorrect.
In December 2019, Grisham defended President Trump's comments about former congressman John Dingell. She described Trump as someone who "counter-punches" when he feels "under attack."
On April 7, 2020, it was announced that Grisham would leave her role as White House Press Secretary. She returned to the East Wing to become Melania Trump's chief of staff on the same day.
On the evening of January 6, 2021, Grisham resigned from her position as Melania Trump's chief of staff. This happened after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.
She later shared with the Jan. 6 Committee that she resigned because of the actions of President Trump and his advisors. She described a text message exchange with Melania Trump. Grisham asked if Melania wanted to tweet a message to the public to stop the violence. Melania's response was "No." In a December 2022 interview, Grisham said that Melania had come to believe her husband's claim that the election was stolen.
Press Briefings Discussion
During Grisham's time as press secretary, there were no formal White House press briefings for over a year. She did not hold any during her entire time in the role. However, she often appeared on various news channels like Fox News, Fox Business Network, One America News Network, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Some news programs questioned why taxpayers were paying her salary if she wasn't holding briefings. They also pointed out that her social media statements and interviews seemed to defend the president but sometimes highlighted his own issues.
Authors Don Winslow and Stephen King offered to donate $100,000 each to charity if Grisham held a one-hour briefing and answered questions from reporters. Also, 13 former White House press secretaries from earlier administrations asked for press briefings to return. However, the briefings did not restart during her time as press secretary. In 2024, Grisham stated that she did not hold press briefings because she "never wanted to stand at that podium and lie."
After the Trump Administration
On January 5, 2022, Grisham gave testimony to the January 6th Committee. She had testified to them once before, but that testimony was shorter. Reports stated that she told the committee that Trump held private meetings in the White House in the weeks before the Capitol attack. She also said the Secret Service had a document showing Trump's plans to march to the Capitol on January 6. She testified again on May 18, 2022.
On August 20, 2024, Grisham spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. She said that Trump made fun of his supporters in private. She also said he had "no morals and no fidelity to the truth." Grisham repeated what she told the January 6 Committee about Melania Trump's reaction to the Capitol riot. She told the audience, "On January 6, I asked Melania if we can at least tweet that 'While peaceful protest is the right of every American, there’s no place for lawlessness or violence.'" The proposed message was shown on screens, along with Melania's one-word reply: "No."
Personal Life
Stephanie Ann Sommerville married Danny Don Marries in Nevada on April 7, 1997. They met at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado. They divorced in 2004.
Later in 2004, she married Todd Grisham, who was a sportscaster. They divorced in 2006.
On December 25, 2007, Grisham had a second son, Jake.
In 2019–2020, Grisham dated then-Trump White House aide Max Miller. Their relationship ended in 2020. Miller filed a defamation lawsuit against Grisham, which he later dropped in August 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Stephanie Grisham para niños
- List of former Trump administration officials who endorsed Kamala Harris
- List of Republicans who oppose the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign
- Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency
