White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp abruptly resigned Monday on the first full day Stephanie Grisham worked as White House press secretary in Washington.
Sources close to the White House told the Washington Examiner last month that Grisham had plans to fire Schlapp if she had the opportunity, though the precise nature of Schlapp’s departure was unclear.
“Thrilled to be joining the President’s re-election campaign! @realDonaldTrump is the best fighter for the American people we have ever had and he will be re-elected!” Schlapp wrote on Twitter.
Schlapp, a veteran of the George W. Bush White House, is married to Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual CPAC conference. She was regarded as a “Bushie” in a White House filled by rival camps.
Three sources told the Washington Examiner last month that Grisham considered Schlapp responsible for self-serving leaks and likely would fire her shortly after taking office. Nearly a dozen people who know both women, however, denied any open tension.
One of the original sources said they later learned an ally of Schlapp’s had spread the story of a looming clash in an apparent bid to derail Grisham.
Thrilled to be joining the President’s re-election campaign! @realDonaldTrump is the best fighter for the American people we have ever had and he will be re-elected! #MAGA #FourMoreYears https://t.co/bmWepsggPo
— Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) July 1, 2019
“Stephanie is not the type who would go in and start firing people. That’s not how she’s wired. I think it’s dramatically overblown,” said one former White House official.
Schlapp told the Washington Examiner that her departure had been considered for a while.
“Before the announcement, Jared [Kushner] and I had been discussing different roles outside of the White House, and we both agreed that I could help the campaign early on,” she said. “The logical transition is now after serving close to two years.”
Grisham also denied that there was any truth to allegations of friction.
“I am sad to see her go, but she will be helping me transition into my new role, and I look forward to working with her in the future,” Grisham said.
Grisham began work as White House press secretary, and also communications director, over the weekend, traveling with Trump to Japan and South Korea. She previously worked two years as spokeswoman to first lady Melania Trump.
A veteran of Trump’s 2016 campaign, Grisham is viewed as intensely loyal to the president.
A supporter of Grisham’s told the Washington Examiner last month that they expected her to take a sharper approach to “reporters being unfair” and “people in the administration doing things they shouldn’t.”
The supporter imagined Grisham “basically being the president’s press and political secret service — if you need to shiv someone, you do it.”
