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Stephanie Grisham, former aide to First Lady Melania Trump, has released new information about Mrs. Trump's response to the January 6 insurrection, and it's both shocking and unsurprising all at the same time.
Grisham, who was Mrs. Trump's Chief of Staff at the time, has already discussed Mrs. Trump's blasé response to January 6 in her now-infamous tell-all book released last year.
This week, during former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's shocking testimony to the House Select Committee's on the events of January 6, Grisham released a screenshot, seen below, of a text exchange she had with the First Lady during the event.
And it speaks volumes about the attitude inside the White House that Hutchinson described.
\u201chttps://t.co/PQXLSsv6IJ\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
In the text exchange, Grisham asked the former First Lady:
"Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence?"
Trump's response required one simple word.
"No"
Well okay then. Message received, Mrs. Trump.
The exchange is in keeping with multiple anecdotes about the inside workings of the White House on that day, including those Grisham shared in her book and most especially the testimony of Hutchinson, former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
During her sworn testimony and depositions, Hutchinson detailed how former Republican President Donald Trump expressly approved of the violence unfolding at the Capitol and "didn't care" that the mob was heavily armed.
She also testified that he was enraged by attempts to tamp the violence down and keep him safe from it, including getting into a physical altercation with the Secret Service.
Grisham's version of events and the text exchange she shared, posted to Twitter during Hutchinson's testimony, seems to corroborate her account and reveals Mrs. Trump was at the very least unwilling to challenge her husband's stance on the violence.
On Twitter, people were equal parts astonished and unsurprised by Mrs. Trump's "I don't really care, do you?" take on January 6.
\u201ccan't believe i missed this yesterday. Incredible\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1656538810
\u201c@OMGrisham She has never cared about anyone besides herself and Barron Trump. Everyone else is expendable. So this is not shocking.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
\u201cThis is Melania Trump's idea of BE BEST. \ud83d\ude21\ud83d\ude21\u201d— Peter Morley (@Peter Morley) 1656453122
\u201c@OMGrisham She was complicit. Still is. Just as dark as her sugar daddy.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
\u201cLawlessness and violence are a feature, not a bug, of Trumpism.\u201d— Bill Kristol (@Bill Kristol) 1656443370
\u201c@OMGrisham Forgot about this. Thanks for the reminder. In light of today's testimony, it is clear that MT may is no different from her husband. She's on the team.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
\u201c@OMGrisham Melania Trump. They are despicable people.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
Many others were angered by the post, which they saw as just one more important piece of evidence Grisham chose to opportunistically withhold until long after the fact.
\u201c@OMGrisham @Larakate So you had this during the impeachment trial and chose not to share it.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
\u201c@OMGrisham I mean, you wanna speak out now go for it. But you couldn\u2019t do that when you were getting a paycheck? I\u2019ll say thanks but I\u2019m not gonna gush over your late response. The trump\u2019s didn\u2019t suddenly turn terrible. Seems like it\u2019s CYA time. K.\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
\u201c@OMGrisham You knew all along. Now you\u2019re telling us?\u201d— Stephanie Grisham (@Stephanie Grisham) 1656441736
Grisham famously resigned on January 6, though she did not offer a reason at the time, saying in a statement that she was "proud of the many accomplishments of this Administration."