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Donald Trump’s former White House press secretary took the stage at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night and shared the brutal one-word message from Melania in the wake of the January 6 insurrection that caused her to quit.
Stephanie Grisham, who held the role from July 2019 to April 2020 before becoming the first lady’s communications director and chief of staff, is one of several Republican figures invited to the convention in Chicago to denounce the “extremism” of the former president and his campaign.
On Tuesday night, as she endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris for president, Grisham shared the brief text exchange, which finally convinced her to leave the post as she “couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer.”
“On Jan. 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,” Grisham, with the apparent text shown on screens behind her, said.
Melania simply responds: “no.”
During her remarks, she told attendees that the former president mocks his supporters behind closed doors, calling them “basem*nt dwellers.”
She also told a story about Trump during a hospital visit “when people were dying in the ICU, he was mad that the cameras were not watching him. He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth.”
“He used to tell me, ‘it doesn't matter what you say, Stephanie, say it enough and people will believe you,’” the former press secretary said.
She added that she resigned on January 6, 2021, because she “couldn't be part of the insanity any longer.”
“Kamala Harris tells the truth, she repsects the American people and she has my vote,” she said.
In a statement to NBC News, Grisham said she never thought she would be speaking at a Democratic convention.“But, after seeing firsthand who Donald Trump really is, and the threat he poses to our country, I feel very strongly about speaking out.”
She added: “While I don’t agree with Vice President Harris on everything, I am proud to be supporting her because I know she will defend our freedoms and represent our nation with honesty and integrity.”
Other Republicans are expected to share a similar message throughout the convention, including former Representative Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, who is scheduled to speak Thursday.
On Monday – the first night of the convention – a video compilation of former Trump voters was played to attendees, including a longer interview with a former Trumper, Rich Logis.
“While Donald Trump continues to attack moderates and independents, the Harris-Walz campaign has made clear that there is a place in our coalition for voters who reject the extremism of Donald Trump and want to protect our democracy,” a Harris campaign official said.
Grisham was Trump’s third White House press secretary, succeeding Sarah Huckabee Sanders and was the first White House Press Secretary to hold no press conferences.
She later assumed the role of chief of staff to former first lady Melania Trump on April 7 2020. On the evening of January 6 2021, Grisham resigned from the position following the storming of the United States Capitol.
In the aftermath of the insurrection and her resignation Grisham has become a fervent critic of her former boss, warning that he would “seek revenge” if not reelected.
She told CNN earlier this year: “He used to tell me when I was press secretary, ‘Go out there and say this.’ And if it was false, he would say, ‘It doesn’t matter, Stephanie. Just say it over and over and over again, people will believe it.’
“He knows his base believes in him. He knows he can basically say anything and his base will believe what he’s saying.”
Her inclusion on the second night of the convention, which also includes remarks from Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, continues the Harris campaign’s drive to recruit Republicans to their cause.
“We will be putting patriotic Republicans front and center in our convention programming to explain, in their own words, why they are putting country first and supporting Vice President Harris,” Austin Weatherford, the campaign’s national Republican engagement director, said in a statement to NBC News.
The campaign launched its “Republicans for Harris” program this month to reach more moderate and independent voters who may have supported Trump in the past, specifically highlighting the controversial Project 2025 document.
