Incoming White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was in an ‘all out brawl’ with North Koreans ahead of the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un as she tried to get the US press pool into position.
Grisham, who officially starts on Monday, joined the President on his trip to the G20 summit in Japan – and was with him for his historic walk from the DMZ into North Korean territory on Sunday.
But she has reportedly come out of the meeting with bruises after a scuffle between reporters and security guards from the secretive state as they tried to block the press.
Incoming White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was in an ‘all out brawl’ with North Koreans during the meeting President Trump and Kim Jong Un as she tried to get the US press pool into position
She reportedly came out of the meeting with bruises after a scuffle between reporters and security guards from the secretive state as they tried to block the press
The jostling grew especially intense as reporters tried to enter a room inside the Freedom House on the southern side of Panmunjom where Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un were meeting after exchanging initial handshakes on the border
The jostling grew especially intense as reporters tried to enter a room inside the Freedom House on the southern side of Panmunjom where Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un were meeting after exchanging initial handshakes on the border.
North Korean guards tried to physically prevent members of the US press pool from entering the room, pushing and shoving – and the Secret Service stepped in to intervene.
Grisham, 42, served as Trump’s travelling press aide during his presidential campaign and was press secretary to first lady Melania Trump.
Ms Grisham, 42, served as Trump’s travelling press aide during his presidential campaign and press secretary to first lady Melania Trump
She is set to succeed Sarah Sanders, who had strained relations with the press and left office on Friday
She was announced as the new White House press secretary on Tuesday, following the departure of Sarah Sanders, who had strained relations with the press and left office on Friday.
The outgoing press secretary is moving back to Arkansas, where the president is pushing her to run for governor.
First Lady Melania announced Grisham’s appointment in a tweet: ‘She has been with us since 2015 – @potus & I can think of no better person to serve the Administration & our country.
First Lady Melania announced Grisham’s appointment in a tweet, in a rare moment where she upstaged her husband
‘Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse,’
The president said later in the Oval Office that Grisham is ‘very talented’ and beloved by the first lady and her colleagues.
He claimed that everyone he asked, including the competition, said Grisham is the best person for the job.
‘Done a fantastic job. The first lady loves her. I think she’s been, you know, just incredible. She’s very talented,’ he said.
Trump had said less than 24 hours prior that he was considering four or five different candidates to replace Sanders.
‘Replacing Sarah is not going to be easy,’ the president told The Hill during an Oval Office interview, ‘a lot of people want the job. We have four or five people that really want it, very good people, very good names.’
The president described Sanders as ‘irreplaceable,’ and jested that he would eventually ‘move on’ from her during the Monday discussion.
‘Sarah has done a fantastic job, she’ll be governor. She won’t talk to us anymore,’ he quipped, praising his exiting press secretary.
He did not name potential replacements, but Grisham was assumed to be a frontrunner alongside Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley.
Trump claimed Tuesday in the Oval, with Gidley at his side, that his top deputy recommended Grisham for the job that he had also indicated he wanted.
‘So I offered her the job this morning and she accepted. And the first lady is very happy for her. It’s a big job. It’s a big job.
‘But we think Stephanie is going to do a fantastic job. And Hogan is going to be with her. Hogan is one of the people that recommended her,’ the president said.
Putting Gidley on the spot, he said, ‘Here’s Hogan. He recommended her very strongly. I said, ‘Hogan who do you think?’ He said, ‘Stephanie Grisham.”
Trump announced on Twitter on June 13 that Sanders would be leaving her post at the end of June, and that same day she took the podium during a White House event to give a teary-eyed goodbye.
She thanked the president for the opportunity to serve as his spokeswoman for the last two years, and Trump kissed her on the cheek and then they embraced.
Sanders has served in the Trump White House since his inauguration, and previously was a top deputy in the press office.
‘She’s done an incredible job. We’ve been through a lot together. She’s tough and she’s good,’ Trump gushed in remarks before she took the podium to speak, adding that she is a ‘warrior.’
He gave a similar tribute to Sanders at an Orlando campaign rally, where she took the mic to praise her boss.
One person familiar with the process told DailyMail.com in the following days that that Grisham or Gidley was likely to get Sanders’ large West Wing office and her old job.
‘Whomever he decides to go with, it’s a very public face and gives voice to the administration and to the public,’ the person said.
President Trump took the historic walk from the DMZ into North Korean territory in order to embark on a meeting with Korean dictator Kim Jong-un today.
The pair greeted each other with a handshake and President Trump was hailed as ‘courageous’ by the North Korean leader.
Trump praised the ‘power’ of Kim’s voice – then criticised predecessor and faulted the media for down-playing his achievements.
Kim told Trump through a translator after smiling during their initial handshake: ‘This has a lot of significance because it means that we want to bring an end to the unpleasant past and try to create a new future, so it’s a very courageous and determined act.’
He added: ‘You’re the first US president to cross this line.’
During the key moment – filmed and photographed from both directions – Trump slowly approached the concrete barrier, as Kim strode toward him, arms moving.
The two leaders shook hands at 3.45 pm local time above the low concrete barrier that marks the line of demarcation.
‘Good to see you again,’ Kim said,’ after seeing Trump during a summit in Hanoi that ended without agreement. ‘I never expected to meet you at this place.’
Trump confirmed he has invited the North Korean leader to visit the US, although with statements that were conflicting.
He said the visit would happen ‘at the right time,’ but also said it could occur ‘any time’ Kim wanted.
‘I said you, know what, at the right time, you’re going to come over. We’re going to go over there,’ Trump told reporters after his meeting.
‘I said any time he wants to do it,’ he said soon afterward. Trump said of a web of sanctions imposed on the north: ‘I’m looking forward to taking them off,’ but that they remain in place.
‘At some point during the negotiation, things can happen,’ he said.