Melania Trump's White House aide spills secrets; says ex-FLOTUS refused to condemn Capitol rioters

Melania Trump remained notoriously private during her time as the first lady of the United States, leaving people to speculate on her nature and political views through her wardrobe choices and her occasional public interactions with her husband Donald Trump. Very few were aware if she was actually in support of her husband's controversial policies, and one of them was her spokesperson and chief of staff Stephanie Grisham.

Stephanie Grisham joined the Trump team as a junior press wrangler during the presidential campaign in 2016, and went on to become White House press secretary and communications director, while at the same time acting as First Lady Melania Trump's communications director and eventual chief of staff. The 45-year-old, who quit from her high-profile positions following the Capitol riots, is now revealing inside details and the "personalities behind the headlines" in a forthcoming book titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House."

In the book, Grisham revealed that the former first lady spent part of election night this year asleep while her husband and advisers were looking over counting and network coverage in the other wing of the White House. "I knocked a few times, quietly at first but louder at each attempt. I finally opened the bedroom door only to find that Melania Trump was sound asleep," Grisham said, adding that they did have a long day but she was still surprised that Melania went to bed, as per Politico.

"I knew by now how much sleep meant to her, but still, I couldn't imagine being asleep at a time like that," Grisham wrote. The first lady eventually woke up and joined her husband in the East Room at 2.30 am where he famously claimed that he had won the election but it was being stolen from him through voter fraud.

In the book, Grisham also revealed Melania's reaction to the attack by her husband's supporters on the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6. The former White House staffer revealed that she had approached the then-first lady asking if she would like to denounce the riots, but the latter refused.

"Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness and violence?" Grisham texted, and Melania replied a minute later with a simple "No." Grisham says the conversation "broke her" and she resigned within hours. Even though she had long defended her employer from the comparisons to Marie Antoinette, she writes in the book that she does see Melania like "the doomed French queen. Dismissive. Defeated. Detached."

Melania's subsequent silence also led to speculations that she too wants her husband to accept defeat in the presidential polls, but Grisham revealed that the former FLOTUS herself strongly believed that the election was illegitimate. When Grisham asked the former model if she would like to reach out to her successor Jill Biden during the transition to set up the traditional inauguration tea, Melania told her that they should "see what the West Wing does."

Melania's current office is denouncing the claims Grisham has made, claiming that her "intent" behind the book 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 statement read.