Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images
- Stephanie Grisham said Melania Trump won't be stumping in early-voting states like Casey DeSantis does for her husband and 2024 GOP contender Ron DeSantis.
- Grisham told The New York Times that Melania Trump won't have the same intensity as Casey DeSantis.
- Melania has repeatedly rejected Donald Trump's requests to campaign with him.
Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that former first lady Melania Trump won't campaign alongside former President Donald Trump in the same way that Casey DeSantis is stumping for her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.
Grisham, who also served as the chief of staff and press secretary to former first lady Melania Trump, told The New York Times in a recent interview that the ex-first lady would promote her husband's candidacy in her own way — and not with the same intensity as DeSantis' wife.
"I don't think it's going to be anything like what we've seen with Casey DeSantis," Grisham told the newspaper. "She's not going to be throwing on jeans and walking in parades."
Friends, rivals, and colleagues previously told Insider that Casey DeSantis, a former TV journalist, is DeSantis' most effective campaign surrogate and advisor, as she easily engages with conservative crowds in early-voting primary states.
In some cases, Casey DeSantis herself seems like a candidate given her easy ability to communicate her husband's political ideology in ways that appeal to Republicans of all stripes and, crucially, many of the conservative women who are still mulling over which candidate will earn their support.
Trump, for his part, has maintained a robust campaign schedule in recent months, with appearances in Iowa and New Hampshire that have rallied the Republican faithful.
Melania Trump has, so far, stayed off the campaign trail. She's also avoided Trump's appearances in court in his series of criminal and civil legal cases.
While The Times report notes that Melania Trump is ready to make appearances with the former president next year, she has so far remained focused on the couple's 17-year-old son, Barron, who is in the middle of his college search.
Grisham resigned as the chief of staff and press secretary to Melania Trump after the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
She has since been an outspoken critic of Trump, and in October 2021 released her bombshell memoir, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," where she gave a damning indictment of the former president's administration.