Longtime Melania Trump aide Stephanie Grisham said on Thursday that she’s not surprised at the former first lady’s silence as her husband defends himself on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election.
“I actually don’t make anything of it,” Grisham told CNN’s Situation Room. “That is Melania Trump.”
Melania Trump hasn’t accompanied the former president during any of his court appearances, including Thursday’s arraignment on his third felony indictment this year, and has not commented on her husband’s mounting legal troubles.
“She is saying in her mind, you know, this is his issue, he can deal with it. He doesn’t need me there to prop him up,” said Grisham, who served as the first lady’s chief of staff and spokesperson.
Grisham continued: “She will show up by his side when she wants to, when she’s perfectly ready.”
Prior to his January 6 indictment, Trump was charged with mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, and with a hush-money payment scheme involving porn star Stormy Daniels.
Grisham cast doubt on Trump’s claim during a recent interview with Real America’s Voice that it was “unpleasant” for him to inform his wife he’d have to show up in court after getting indicted again.
Melania Trump, she said, “watches media as much as he does” and “absolutely” would know the details of the legal troubles her husband is facing.
The relationship between Grisham and Melania Trump reportedly soured after Grisham resigned from the administration following January 6, and later wrote a memoir about her time at the White House.
R. Couri Hay, a New York publicist and acquaintance of Melania Trump, told The Times that the former first lady now spends most of her time with her parents, and helping her son Baron look for colleges.
“The former president relies on her advice and her support but it’s all done very privately,” Hay added.
Trump remains defiant and claims prosecutors are trying to hurt his 2024 campaign.
The former first lady has previously said she supports her husband’s bid to return to the White House.
“My husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration, and he can lead us toward greatness and prosperity once again,” she told Fox News Digital in May. “He has my support, and we look forward to restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength.”