Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham offered a startling theory Wednesday about how President Donald Trump could keep three news outlets banned from the White House even if the Supreme Court eventually rules against him.
“I’m no lawyer, so let me start there,” Grisham said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”
“But I just think that if he takes it to the Supreme Court and they rightfully side with the media, I think he could get to a point where he's like, ‘Nope, let's kick them out, and anybody who kicks him out, I'll just give you a pardon.’”
The striking scenario from Grisham, who also served as first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff, came as a federal judge considers a request from CNN, MS NOW and Politico to restore their reporters’ White House access.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly did not immediately rule Wednesday on the news outlets’ request to restore their White House press passes. They sued after Trump barred them because of coverage he declared was “fake news.”
Grisham told Burnett Wednesday that she also recalled hearing Trump disparage American journalists while speaking with authoritarian leaders.
“I heard him on two different occasions, in a [bilateral] with China and in a [bilateral] with North Korea,” she said.
Grisham said at one point she had “physically fought” North Korean guards to get American reporters into one meeting.
“He told them on both occasions — the dictators, that is — that the press, ‘Aren’t they animals? They’re animals. They’re crazy. You have the right idea,” she said. “He absolutely wants to have a presidency more on the side of dictators."
“That’s incredible,” Burnett added.
