The National Memo Logo

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless.

Monday, December 09, 2019 {{ new Date().getDay() }}

Home
The stories you want. The opinions that matter.

Sign up for our Daily Newsletter and never miss a story.

No, thanks
Tag: melania trump

Will Former Flack Grisham ‘Set Fire’ To Trumpworld In Tell-All Memoir?

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

x

Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House press secretary and communications director without ever holding a press briefing, will publish I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in The Trump White House on October 5 under the Harper Collins banner, reported Axios.

"There isn't enough water on earth to contain the fire she could set to all of Trump world, including parts like the first lady's orbit, which not many people are in a position to illuminate," said a former West Wing colleague. "It's hard to articulate how much anxiety this is going to cause."

A source close to the publication said Grisham "has receipts" from her time in the White House because, as the press secretary, her job required her to know what was happening.

"Grisham knows where all the bodies are buried because she buried a lot of them herself," that source said.

She resigned on January 6, after four years in the White House, and is the only person who served under both Donald and Melania Trump, and one of the few who spent time in their private residence.

"When I heard this," the West Wing source said, "all I could think about was Stephanie surrounded by a lake of gasoline, striking a match with a grin on her face."

Former staffer about to 'set fire' to Trump by exposing 'surprising new scandals' in tell-all memoir www.youtube.com

Wing-Nuts Hilariously Triggered By Jill Biden’s Vogue Cover

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady, appears on the cover of the new issue of VOGUE and conservatives are furious.

As First Lady, Melania Trump was never given the same honor, although she did appear on a VOGUE cover in 2005 in her $100,000 bridal gown. First Lady Michelle Obama graced VOGUE's cover three times, and as First Lady Hillary Clinton did once.

So did First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush.

On Christmas Day 2020 then-President Donald Trump expressed outrage that Melania Trump, as First Lady, had never been featured on the cover of any of the big four fashion magazines.

But that was, at least in part, her doing.

"To be on the cover of Vogue doesn't define Mrs. Trump," then-First Lady Melania Trump's spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, said in 2019, "she's been there, done that long before she was first lady. Her role as first lady of the United States and all that she does is much more important than some superficial photo shoot and cover."

InStyle reported that "Grisham added that Melania wouldn't be available for a second cover, even if the invitation was presented to her. Instead, she's focusing on her Be Best campaign."

Here's how some on the right are responding.

Trump And Melania Were Vaccinated At White House But Kept It Secret

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Before leaving the White House as president, Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump chose to be inoculated from the deadly coronavirus, but opted to keep it a secret. Republicans represent the largest group of Americans who say they will not or are unsure if they will get vaccinated.

As head of a very loyal group of supporters, Trump could have gone on national television, as President-elect Joe Biden did, to receive the vaccine, which would have helped convert many opposed to the life-saving shot.

On Monday, the New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported the news that Trump was vaccinated, citing an advisor to the former president.

Some may have noticed that during his Sunday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump in a rare move gave lip service to getting the vaccine, although couching it in an attack against President Biden. He told supporters to "go get your shot."

"Remember, we took care of a lot of people, including, I guess on December 21st, we took care of Joe Biden, because he got his shot," Trump told the CPAC crowd in Orlando at his speech that was widely panned. "He got his vaccine. He forgot. It shows you how unpainful that vaccine shot is. So everybody go get your shot. He forgot. So it wasn't very traumatic, obviously. But he got his shot. And it's good that he got his shot."

Axios reported last week that 41 percent of Republicans say they will not get the coronavirus vaccine. That number jumps to 56 percent when including Republicans who say they are unsure. Just one-third of Republicans (33 percent) say they will get vaccinated. Compare that with 70 percent of Democrats who say they will get vaccinated.

"White Americans are now less likely than Black and Latino Americans to say they plan to get the vaccine," Axios notes.

New Report Dishes Trump’s Bizarre Conduct In His Own Hotel

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Former President Donald Trump was very meticulous when it came to the high standards of service he required of his Trump Hotel staff, according to a new report. From recited greetings to memorized, repetitive orders and very specific service requirements, employees' claims suggest Trump wanted nearly the same dining experience each and every time he dined at Table 72 at the center of the Trump Hotel's mezzanine.

Now, many of them are shedding light on the scrupulous staff handbook and some of their bizarre encounters with him and other right-wing elites

A detailed piece published by The Washingtonian offers detailed accounts of hotel employees' interactions with the former president. The employees and former employees, some of whom have opted for anonymity, laid out Trump's mundane meal requests which began with recited instructions similar to a skit in a play.

The publication writes, "As soon as Trump was seated, the server had to 'discreetly present' a mini bottle of Purell hand sanitizer. (This applied long before Covid, mind you.) Next, cue dialogue: "Good (time of day) Mr. President. Would you like your Diet Coke with or without ice?" the server was instructed to recite."

An employee also revealed that there were even instructions for pouring drinks. "Directions for pouring the soda were detailed in a process no fewer than seven steps long—and illustrated with four photo exhibits," the publication wrote. "The beverage had to be opened in front of the germophobe commander in chief, "never beforehand."

It added, "The server was to hold a longneck-bottle opener by the lower third of the handle in one hand and the Diet Coke, also by the lower third, in the other. Once poured, the drink had to be placed at the President's right-hand side. 'Repeat until POTUS departs.'"

As for his meal, Trump reportedly orders the same entrees and dishes each time. However, there is one bizarre request that must be adhered to.

Trump always had the same thing: shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, and fries (plus sometimes apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert). Popovers—make it a double for the President—had to be served within two minutes and the crustaceans "immediately." The manual instructed the server to open mini glass bottles of Heinz ketchup in front of Trump, taking care to ensure he could hear the seal make the "pop" sound.

Former executive chef Bill Williamson shared details about his experience working for the hotel and the former president. He noted that the president always requested a "bone-in rib eye or filet mignon" and very little ever changed about his request. "It was the same steak. Both well done. Maybe it was a half-ounce bigger or something, I don't know."Although Trump's requests were out of the ordinary, one of the hotel employees admitted that the former president's personal attorney Rudy Guiliani was "the biggest pain in my butt." The former general manager of the hotel recounted his experiences with the disgraced attorney."The biggest pain in my butt was Giuliani," the former general manager said. "He was constantly in the restaurant. And I complained about it. The guy would come in, expect a table for ten at a moment's notice at, like, 2 pm, when we're not fully functioning. We don't have the staff. But he's the President's lawyer, and what am I supposed to do?"

However, for some, there were perks. Former bartender Michel Rivera revealed he averaged more than $100,000 annually with tips. "People would literally come up to me and give me $100 bills and be like, 'You must be the best bartender in the world if you work here!' " Rivera said. "A group of three or four guys would come up, have a round of drinks—I could easily sell them over $1,000. You don't see that at too many bars."

Trump may no longer be in the White House but his desire for opulence will likely last forever.

"The Pardon": A Play In One Act


Scene 1: The White House. Oval Office. January 19, 2021. 10 a.m.

President Donald Trump is meeting alone with Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump: You heard Mike Flynn? "Massive landslide."

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Bigger than the last one.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: You take out the swing states and I won. But I won the swing states. Statistically impossible to lose. Tremendous cheating. Stolen, rigged, total fraud. All over by 10 o'clock, massive lead. Then the phony ballots. Illegal mail-ins. Fox News calls Arizona. Stab in the back.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: The Venezuelans, yeah, the Venezuelans. Fixed the voting machines. Flipped the votes. Giant hoax. Hundreds and hundreds of affidavits. Rudy proved it. What was with that cheap hair job? He should have asked me. I would have recommended my guy. Always perfect. Rudy asked me for a pardon, should have asked about the hair.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: You have to look presidential. I'm more presidential than anyone except maybe Abraham Lincoln with the hat. You think I'm going to wear a hat like that? Or a beard? If Rudy had a beard what do you think, good, bad?

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Nobody's been treated worse than Lincoln except me. Nobody since Lincoln did more for black people than me.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: My hand is tired from signing pardons. Every single one of those clients of Alan Dershowitz. Quote "defrauding investors" unquote. Quote "massive government corruption" unquote. Fake and fake. Pardoned!

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Dershowitz used to have a big Mexican moustache when he was with OJ. I forget, does Dershowitz have a beard now?

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Maybe not.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: When you're a president you can pardon anyone. I don't even wait. Roger Stone—loyal, scum, but loyal. Good dresser. He shut up. Mike Flynn—good guy. He shut up. A soldier. Manafort—hardly knew him. He shut up. That Elliott Broidy—putz. A pardon wouldn't shut him up, immunity deal. Michael Cohen even put down my fake name as his fake name on his abortion payoff. Nothing for that traitor Cohen.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Firing squad.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: You have to take care of your family. Family values, right, Mike?

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Hannity said pardon every one of them and myself. Don, Jr. If a pardon is what you say it is, I love it. Ivanka. Could have been my VP. Smart, beautiful, everybody loves her. But stuck with you, Mike.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Jared, too. Package deal. And Melania! Angry woman from the inauguration committee blabbing to a grand jury. Some friend, broke the non-disclosure agreement. Said Melania called Ivanka "Princess." Did you know I called my yacht "Princess?"

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: The lawyers said I couldn't pardon myself during the impeachment. The president… (reading from a piece of paper he's picked up from his desk, words written in bold Sharpie) "…shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Did you know Gerald Ford pardoned Tokyo Rose? Talk about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue. Pearl Harbor. Old man Bush, the first one, he pardoned six officials convicted in the Iran-contra scandal. You know who told him he could do that? His attorney general. That's right, William Barr. And they call him my Roy Cohn. But did he ever indict Obama, Hillary, and Biden? Spied on me. Biggest conspiracy in history. Guilty, guilty, and guilty. Now Barr says he hasn't seen any fraud. He says there's no evidence. In a million years never thought he'd be a sellout to the Deep State. Elliott Abrams, running Iran for me. What goes around comes around. Remind me to talk to Abrams about those Venezuelan voting machines. What do you think I should give Tokyo Rose? Maybe ambassador to Japan. Is she alive? And they say I can't pardon myself. As has been stated by numerous top legal scholars, the best, I have the absolute right to pardon myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? Nixon was a schmuck not to burn the tapes.

Pence: Yes, sir.

(Enter Melania, cell phone in one hand, a piece of paper in the other. She is wearing her jacket: "I Don't Really Care Do U.")

Melania: At least I don't have do another inauguration. And no more Christmas. (Hands Trump the paper. Exits.)

Trump: A pardon's free, not like a prenup.

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: (Reads from the piece of paper.) Section 3, 25th Amendment. "Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President." Even though Ivanka should be the next president, maybe should have been vice president, it's going to be you. Not Biden. You're number 46. I'm going to make you president. Sort of like Queen for a Day, remember that show?

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: I've got the papers right here. (He opens a folder on his desk.) I sign the one about unable to discharge and you sign the pardon for me. Do us a favor, though. Then in a New York minute I'm back as president. I'm able to discharge again.

Pence: Mr. President…

Trump: When you sign I'll call you Mr. President, then you can call me Mr. President back again. We never need to leave the Oval Office. But you'll always be number 46 in the history books. Maybe not a library.

Pence: Mr. President, I've discussed this with Mother.

Trump: How is your wife?

Pence: Mother says it's not the best idea.

Trump: So, you're listening to Mother instead of the father of your country?

Pence: Yes, sir.

Trump: Treat me like a dog!

Scene 2: The White House. January 20, 2021. 11:59 a.m.

Trump is alone in the Oval Office, talking on the telephone.

Trump: Thanks, Alan! (Hangs up the telephone, signs a piece of paper. Speaks aloud to himself.) Dershowitz says Roy had only two books in his law office, neither of them law books, a checkbook and a Rolodex. Roy said Dershowitz was a kibitzer. I got him pro bono. The best. Pardoned myself! Got to call Hannity. Should have done this to begin with. Melania warned me that Pence would double-cross me. But she said he'd take it and let me hang out to dry. He could have been president, but he blew it. Mother!

He hears distant noises, the approaching sound of running, then barking, louder and louder. Major and Champion, Joe Biden's German shepherds, bark and growl and scratch at the door.

Trump: (Shouts) McEntee! McEnany!

12:01 p.m.

A Secret Service agent enters through the French doors leading to the Rose Garden. The whir of a waiting helicopter is heard.

Secret Service Agent: Mr. Trump…

Trump: Don't ever talk to the President of the United States that way.

[End]

Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth. His play, This Town, about a scandalous White House dog, was produced in 1995 by LA TheatreWorks.

Danziger Draws

Jeff Danziger lives in New York City. He is represented by CWS Syndicate and the Washington Post Writers Group. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons and one novel. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.

Danziger Draws

Jeff Danziger lives in New York City. He is represented by CWS Syndicate and the Washington Post Writers Group. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons and one novel. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.

Trump has Coronavarius

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

President Donald Trump announced early Friday morning, shortly before 1 a.m., that he and First Lady Melania Trump are positive for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The announcement came shortly after he had confirmed that his close aide, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for the virus. He had said he would begin a "quarantine process" and was still waiting for the results of a test. But Hicks had reportedly known she was positive since Wednesday, and the White House is equipped with rapid tests, so this explanation made little sense.

The fact that the president is positive immediately raised concerns about the continuity of government. Trump himself is 74 years old and at risk of heart disease, which puts him in the group of people highly susceptible to complications from the virus.

It was not immediately clear if Vice President Mike Pence has been recently tested for the virus. Trump was also in close proximity to his competitor in the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, during the presidential debate on Tuesday. Though they declined to have the traditional handshake out of concerns about transmitting the virus, their presence together indoors raises the prospect that both candidates may be exposed to the virus.

CNN's Dr. Jonathan Reiner had suggested prior to Trump's official diagnosis that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, should enter isolation given the risk to the president and Pence posed by Hicks' infection.

The White House physician released the following letter on the news: