Melania Trump's ex-top aide likens her to 'doomed French queen' Marie Antoinette in her bombshell memoir full of White House secrets, report says

• Melania Trump's ex-White House right-hand roundly condemns her former boss in a forthcoming tell-all memoir.
• Stephanie Grisham, a top Trumpworld figure, calls Melania "the doomed French queen," Politico reported.
• Grisham, who resigned on January 6, writes that the Trumps' response to the Capitol riot "broke" her.

Melania Trump's former top advisor Stephanie Grisham roundly condemned the ex-first lady in her forthcoming tell-all memoir, Politico reported on Monday.

Grisham, a longtime Trumpworld loyalist who served in a series of top roles in the White House, including as White House press secretary and Melania Trump's chief of staff and speechwriter, compared the former first lady to Marie Antoinette, the extravagant and infamous French queen. Trump was like "the doomed French queen. Dismissive. Defeated. Detached," she wrote.

Critics repeatedly compared Melania Trump to Antoinette for appearing out of touch with average Americans, including when she donned a jacket reading "I don't care. Do u?" while visiting the US-Mexico border and when she announced White House renovations during the pandemic, among other moves. Antoinette was viewed by many French citizens as a symbol of a bloated, cruel monarchy and was beheaded during the French revolution.

Grisham wrote that she texted the then-first lady during the January 6 Capitol riot asking: "Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness and violence?"

Melania Trump reportedly replied a minute later, "No."

Grisham writes that the Trumps' response to their loyalists storming of the Capitol "broke" her and prompted her resignation, according to an excerpt of the book obtained by Politico.

As the riot took place, the first lady was overseeing a photo shoot of a rug she'd selected for the White House. Five days after the capitol riot, Melania Trump broke her silence about the attack with a statement focused more on condemning "salacious gossip" about her than the rioters. In a typo-ridden press release, she said she was "disappointed and disheartened with what happened last week," and slammed "salacious gossip, unwarranted personal attacks, and false misleading accusations on me."

It's unclear exactly what "gossip" the former first lady was referring to, but it was likely a reference to her former friend and top aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff's January 8 Daily Beast op-ed, in which Wolkoff called Trump "Machiavellian" and an "abuser" who bears responsibility for the "destruction of America."

Grisham's book, titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House," is scheduled to be released on October 5 and is reportedly sparking panic in former President Donald Trump's orbit. An anonymous source told Politico that Grisham will publish "secrets about Trump that even the first lady doesn't know. Secrets that he doesn't want her to know."

Melania Trump's office released a statement to Politico condemning Grisham ahead of the book's release.

"The intent behind this book is obvious," the statement said, adding of Grisham, "It is an attempt to redeem herself after a poor performance as press secretary, failed personal relationships, and unprofessional behavior in the White House. Through mistruth and betrayal, she seeks to gain relevance and money at the expense of Mrs. Trump."

The vague comment about "failed personal relationships" appears to be in reference to Grisham's 18-month relationship with former White House official Max Miller, who reportedly slapped and pushed Grisham after she confronted him about his alleged infidelity. Miller's attorney has denied that Miller ever physically assaulted Grisham.