The Point: Donald Trump's appalling response to a new tell-all book about his White House

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September 28, 2021 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski

Donald Trump's appalling response to a new tell-all book about his White House

Stephanie Grisham spent years at the side of the Trumps, serving as then-President Donald Trump's press secretary and as chief of staff for first lady Melania Trump.

She quit her job in protest after the January 6 US Capitol riot and has written a tell-all memoir of her time at the center of the Trump storm, due out next week.

Excerpts of the book leaked Tuesday, including Grisham writing of Trump's "terrifying" temper: "When I began to see how his temper wasn't just for shock value or the cameras, I began to regret my decision to go to the West Wing," she wrote.

Trump, never one to let any slight (real or perceived) go, issued a statement via a spokeswoman that, in part, read this way:

"Stephanie didn't have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning. She became very angry and bitter after her break up and as time went on she was seldom relied upon, or even thought about. She had big problems and we felt that she should work out those problems for herself. Now, like everyone else, she gets paid by a radical left-leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things."

Yes, you read that right. The former President of the United States said that Grisham's book shouldn't be taken seriously because she was "very angry and bitter" after a breakup.

(The relationship Trump is referencing is the one between Grisham and onetime White House aide Max Miller, who is currently running for Congress in Ohio and facing some tough questions about past behavior.)

Trump's dismissiveness of Grisham's book -- and Grisham -- as nothing more than a bitter woman on the wrong end of a breakup is appalling even by his decidedly low standards.

If you expect there to be any blowback for Trump's attack on Grisham from Republican elected officials, you haven't been paying much attention to politics for the past five years or so.

This, like so many other excesses and inappropriate comments from Trump, will be ignored or, in some quarters, even defended.

The Point: When we don't denounce stuff like this from Trump, we tacitly tolerate it. And look where that's left the Republican Party.

-- Chris

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I'm not shocked, because I've been in elected politics for 10 years. But it's inexcusable."

-- Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo criticized the partisan divide over raising the debt limit, calling it "inexcusable" and urging swift bipartisan congressional action.

TUESDAY'S MUST SEE TWEETS

1. Redistricting is looking better than expected for Democrats

2. The Virginia governor's race, explained

3. So we are going to default on our debt, then?

4. Uh, TMI

5. Thank you, Desmond Bane

CHRIS' GOOD READS

Terry McAuliffe is still ahead in this year's Virginia governor's race. But that lead is shrinking and Politico reports that Democrats are starting to get very nervous.

If you think the 2020 election (and its aftermath) was bad, just wait for 2024 if Donald Trump winds up as the Republican nominee, warns Ashley Parker in The Washington Post.

And Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times makes clear why Democrats can't underestimate Trump again.

I am simultaneously intrigued and appalled by "Squid Game." Slate explains why I am not alone.

"Zoolander" is 20 years old. This piece from Esquire commemorates its status as a box office flop and cult classic.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats have a new album coming in early November. The first single off of it -- "Love Don't" -- is out now. And it's great.

-- Chris

📉 A LOOK AT THE POLLS 📈

Republicans' appetite for seeing January 6 rioters prosecuted has fallen sharply over the course of the year, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday.

A sizable majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 57%, still say it's at least somewhat important that federal law enforcement agencies find and prosecute those who breached the US Capitol on January 6.
- That is down from 79% in a March poll. And only about one-quarter now consider such prosecutions very important, down from half who felt that way in the spring.
- Why the drop? It comes after a months-long campaign by prominent right-wing figures to whitewash the insurrection.
By contrast, opinion among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents has remained largely stable and near-unanimous: 95% currently say prosecuting rioters is at least somewhat important, and 80% say that it's very important.
Overall, 78% of Americans still say it's important.

OF *COURSE* TRUMP JUST TURNED ON LINDSEY GRAHAM

Former President Donald Trump stressed the importance of loyalty throughout his tenure in office, but appears to have forgotten that same value toward one of his most trusted confidants: Sen. Lindsey Graham.

In the latest episode of The Point, Chris describes how Trump's relationships with his allies are all about usefulness until he says, "You're fired."

Stick with The Point on YouTube and subscribe!

ONE NEW MAP ✍️

Oregon

The Beaver State is the first to complete a new congressional map after the 2020 census. Oregon's map is a compromise that is expected to create four Democratic-leaning seats, one Republican-leaning seat and one more competitive seat.

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