Trump and Melania were 'totally unfazed' by abuse allegations against White House staffer: new book

Stephanie Grisham alleges that Donald and Melania Trump ignored her claims that she had been physically abused by her ex-boyfriend, White House aide Max Miller.

Grisham, the former White House press secretary, writes in her new tell-all book that Trump took interest in her relationship with Miller and "asked intimate questions" about it, complimenting the couple as "right out of central casting," according to an excerpt published by the Washington Post.

However, when Grisham told the former president and first lady about Miller's abuse, "they didn't seem to care," she writes.

Politico reported in July that Grisham and Miller's 18-month relationship ended after he "pushed her against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her," according to people familiar with the incident.

Miller, who has been endorsed by Trump in his Ohio congressional campaign, has denied the allegations through an attorney.

Grisham reports that she first told Melania Trump about the abuse when the first lady asked how she was holding up after the breakup.

"She asked me if I had called the police and I said no, explaining that this close to the election, it wouldn't be good to have yet another domestic abuse scandal hanging over the administration," Grisham writes. "I also had no proof. She nodded and did not push the matter further. As far as I know, she told no one."

Later, Grisham told the former president about the abuse after he asked whether it was tough to see Miller, by then her ex, at the first presidential debate in 2020.

"He (Trump) then began to tell me how broken up my ex had been about the split and expressed sympathy for him," Grisham writes. "I couldn't sit there and listen to that. Although I had not intended to, I confided the same story about the physical abuse that I had told Mrs. Trump. I told the president that this 'great guy' had anger issues and a violent streak. I was not some stranger making a wild accusation. I hoped that he would take me seriously, that he would do something."

Trump responded by crossing his arms and saying, "That surprises me. He was really broken up over things," according to Grisham, who added that they never spoke about it again.

"I felt that Mrs. Trump believed my story. I suspected the president, long invested in the view that women usually make up allegations of assault, didn't want to believe it," Grisham writes.

"The point is that the president and first lady seemed totally unfazed about whether there was an abuser — another abuser — in their workplace. There was no follow-up from either of them to see if I needed help or protection. There was no investigation ordered. No effort to get to the bottom of this," she writes. "A White House staffer accused of assault by a woman whom the president knew and trusted? It didn't even seem to register on the president's radar screen as a concern. To the contrary, knowing what he knows, Trump has endorsed my ex's bid for Congress. The takeaway: Dealing with abuse claims is not in his interest, but having someone in office who will be a rubber stamp for his agenda is."

Grisham's book, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," was released Tuesday.