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Stephanie Grisham, former Trump press secretary, says his response to COVID-19 cost lives — and that she's 'terrified' he'll run in 2024

Grisham looks at Trump while he points a finger.
Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham listens to former US President Donald Trump talk to reporters before he boards Marine One and departing the White House November 8, 2019 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

  • Stephanie Grisham served as White House Press Secretary from July 2019 to April 2020.
  • She also served as chief of staff to former First Lady Melania Trump.
  • She resigned from the Trump administration after the January 6 insurrection.
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A former spokesperson for ex-President Donald Trump said she now thinks he will run again in 2024 — and that his administration's "misinformation" on COVID-19 cost lives, flipping her from a "true believer" to a critic.

"It does look like he's going to try to run in 2024," former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that aired Monday. "I didn't at first, but I'm starting to believe he will. He's clearly the frontrunner in the Republican Party. Everybody's showing their fealty to him."

Grisham, who resigned from the Trump administration following the January 6 insurrection — and what legal experts say was an attempted coup d'etat — warned that a second term for the former president would likely see him focused on "revenge" and unveiling "some pretty draconian policies."

"There were conversations, a lot of times, that people would say, 'That'll be the second term. That'll be the second term.' Meaning: We won't have to worry about another election," Grisham said.

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In a separate interview with ABC's Juju Chang, Grisham expanded on why she's "terrified of him running in 2024," saying she believes he would "foment more violence."

"I don't think he is fit for the job," she said. "I think that he is erratic. I think that he can be delusional. I think that he is a narcissist and cares about himself first and foremost. And I do not want him to be our president again."

Grisham — who helped sell the former president's agenda when he was in office — conceded that she shared some blame.

"I wish I would have spoken out more about COVID, about our response to COVID," she told Chang. "I wish I would have told him he needs to wear a mask."

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She said the administration's misinformation on the pandemic — downplaying the utility of masks and agitating against public health orders — led to more people dying.

"I don't know if you can ever forgive yourself fully for being a part of that," she said.

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