Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House press secretary under Donald Trump, said she witnessed the then-president’s sexual harassment firsthand.
She told CNN that she had to try to protect one staffer in particular who Trump would request accompany him on trips.
“He one time had one of my other deputies bring her back so that they could look at her ass, is what he said to him,” Grisham said. “I sat down and talked to her at one point, asked her if she was uncomfortable. I tried everything I could to ensure she was never alone with him.”
Grisham said she spoke to various chiefs of staff, including Mark Meadows, about Trump’s behavior.
“I think, at the end of the day, what could they do other than go in there and say, ‘This isn’t good, Sir’?” she said. “Donald Trump will do what Donald Trump wants to do.”
Grisham’s comments came hours after a civil jury found the former president liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
Grisham said Trump would often comment on people’s looks and speculate about cosmetic surgery.
“But with this one staffer, it was really bad, to the point that I was extremely uncomfortable,” she said, adding that all senior White House staffers at the time knew about the situation.
“I did everything I could to keep her off of trips actually, and to stay with her if she was with him alone because I was really nervous about what could happen,” Grisham added.
She did not name the staffer. Grisham has recounted the details before, including in her book.
Critics slammed Grisham for failing to take stronger action and for writing a book about it afterward.
“I frankly see no redeeming quality in this woman or any of the Trump accomplices who now want to clear their names and want to make a buck,” CNN political commentator Ana Navarro said earlier.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.