It’s not just prominent party loyalists taking center stage at this year’s Democratic National Convention . Republican defectors who have publicly disavowed former President Donald Trump are also taking the stage in Chicago. On Tuesday, former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham — the third spokesperson tasked with heading the press operations of Trump’s White House during his term — addressed the floor of the United Center.
Grisham spoke of her disaffection with the former president, noting that she “was one of his closest advisers.” “The Trump family became my family. I spent Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s all at Mar-a-Lago,” Grisham recalled.
“I saw him when the cameras were off behind closed doors. Trump mocks his supporters, he calls them basement dwellers.” Former Trump WH Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tells the DNC that Trump "mocks his supporters" and calls them "basement dwellers" behind closed doors.
pic.twitter.com/XPxELfypCt “He used to tell me: ‘It doesn’t matter what you say Stephanie.
Say it enough, and people will believe you.’ But it does matter. What you say matters and what you don’t say matters,” Grisham added.
The former press secretary recalled her resignation from the White House in the aftermath of Jan. 6. “I asked Melania [Trump] if we could at least tweet that while peaceful protest is the right of every American, there’s no place for lawlessness or violence.
She replied with one word: no. I became the first senior staffer to resign that day.” Grisham is not the only prominent Republican figure addressing the convention.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is expected to take the stage on Thursday, and Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.
Former Trump supporter Kyle Sweetser, who in his words voted for Trump “not once, not twice, but three times,” also spoke on Tuesday, telling the convention floor that he’s “not left-wing” but that he believes “our leaders should bring out the best in us, not the worst.” “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she’ll make us proud to be Americans,” Sweetser added. Former Trump voter @sweetser_kyle at the DNC: “I voted for Trump not once, not twice, but three times.
..I realized Trump wasn't for me .
.. I believe our leaders should bring out the best in us.
Not the worst. That’s why I’m voting for Kamala Harris..
.” pic.twitter.
com/8AzXT9UJ65 Earlier this week, retired Federal Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig announced that he would be endorsing Vice President Harris over Trump. The prominent conservative legal scholar, who was appointed under George H.
W. Bush, told CNN that “regrettably, in the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law.” Trending AOC Torches Trump in Rousing DNC Speech: 'Would Sell This Country for $1' James Taylor Apologizes After Being Cut From the Democratic National Convention Trump Doubles Down on Medal of Honor Dig Despite Backlash From Vets Former White Party Dancer Files Police Report Against Sean Combs in Miami “As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for the presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris,” he added.
Democrats want to make clear at the convention that there are plenty of other Republicans who feel similarly..
