During an appearance on CNN, former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham confirmed what many already knew about the relationship between Fox News and the Trump administration.
Grisham said White House officials counted on Fox News to provide favorable news coverage of the administration.
You can watch video of her appearance below.
Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham essentially admits Fox News was a state-run media network under the Trump administration that "just took what we were saying and disseminated it"pic.twitter.com/y7VAYIyCKW— Edward Hardy (@Edward Hardy) 1633451400
Grisham said:
"That's just where we went to get what we wanted out. By and large, they didn't get tough with us. They just took what we were saying and disseminated it."
Grisham also drew a connection between Fox News's coverage of the Trump administration and the Capitol insurrection of January 6, the day a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol based on the false premise that the 2020 election had been stolen.
Grisham resigned the day of the insurrection.
Fox News had amplified former President Donald Trump's conspiracy theories about the election and continues to do so, well after he's left office.
Grisham acknowledges the role she played in promoting these falsehoods:
"Again I've had a lot of time to grapple with this and I feel horribly guilty about my part in it because I went on Fox a lot."
During her time working in the White House, Grisham never held a single press briefing but found plenty of time to appear on Fox News, which many have accused of serving as a mouthpiece for the Trump administration.
And when asked whether she'd been truthful during interviews with Fox while she worked in the White House, she admitted that she "probably wasnt."
Given that accusations that Fox was little more than a propaganda arm for the Trump administration have dogged it for much of the last five years, no one was surprised.
The internet's memory is long, and Grisham, who appeared on CNN to promote her memoir about her time in the White House, has been widely criticized.
"I regret all that lying I did willingly with no attempt to stop or change while it was happening, but now that the gravy train is gone I need to act like I'm a better person"https://twitter.com/EdwardTHardy/status/1445426054538141700\u00a0\u2026— Probably not a Witty Name (@Probably not a Witty Name) 1633467164
Not to overanalyze this but: Duh.https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1445353430877458436\u00a0\u2026— Joe Amarante (@Joe Amarante) 1633469263
The right wing propaganda arm of the former guy\u2019s White House where Stephanie Grisham admits she lied.https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1445353430877458436\u00a0\u2026— Barbara Malmet (@Barbara Malmet) 1633445992
Can you really uncrack that egg?https://twitter.com/EdwardTHardy/status/1445426054538141700\u00a0\u2026— Joseph J. Lost in space and time. (@Joseph J. Lost in space and time.) 1633463284
Grisham seems to have given more interviews in the past week about having *been* White House press secretary than she did in all the months when she actually was the White House press secretary.https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1445353430877458436\u00a0\u2026— Paul Farhi (@Paul Farhi) 1633443271
Us people who hate Trump knew this, you were ok with it for 4 years. You dont get brownie points for after the fact remorse.https://twitter.com/EdwardTHardy/status/1445426054538141700\u00a0\u2026— Jamie Jones (@Jamie Jones) 1633465984
This press tour she is on now is just a little too late, where was all the outrage the entire Trump Admin ??!!https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1445466745435656198\u00a0\u2026— Jordan King (@Jordan King) 1633464623
Old news Steph. @FoxNews fell all over themselves to grovel at Ts feet. Lying racist misogynistic seditious traitors flock together.https://twitter.com/edwardthardy/status/1445426054538141700\u00a0\u2026— Principessa Sandra (@Principessa Sandra) 1633464928
Grisham's memoir, I'll Take Your Questions Now, was released on Tuesday, October 5.
During that same CNN interview, she said Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter, Ivanka Trump, saw themselves as a "shadow president and first lady."
She described Kushner as "heady with power" and while she acknowledges that he is "intelligent," Ivanka Trump is "the brains" of the duo who is able, unlike her father, to project a calm and controlled image.
Grisham's distaste for Kushner also made headlines earlier during her book tour after Politico published a portion of her manuscript in which she referred to Kushner as ""Rasputin in a slim-fitting suit."
She said Kushner often worked with former President Trump's speechwriters to "dictate" what he would say once it was decided that he should address the nation amid concerns about Covid-19.
Trump, for his part, has already openly criticized and attempted to discredit Grisham, referring to her in a statement as having been "very angry and bitter" after she ended her relationship with former Trump White House aide Max Miller.
The relationship between Grisham and Miller ended last year after Miller pushed Grisham up against a wall and slapped her in the face after she accused him of infidelity.
