White House Spokesperson Fired Without Holding a Single Briefing

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The White House press secretary, who attracted global attention, was dismissed without making a presence. He also bore the dishonor of never holding a briefing during his tenure.

CNN reported on the 7th (local time) that Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary (photo), is stepping down after about nine months and moving to the position of Chief of Staff for First Lady Melania Trump.

Grisham worked as Melania Trump's spokesperson at the White House and was suddenly appointed as White House press secretary right after Sarah Huckabee Sanders resigned in June last year. At the time, it was even criticized as a mere rotation of press secretaries.

CNN reported that Grisham stepped down without holding a single press briefing. There were no questions about her dismissal even during President Trump's COVID-19 task force briefing that day. This means she had no presence. In her farewell remarks, Grisham expressed gratitude only to President Trump and the press office staff, making no mention of the reporters.

It is not that she never showed any presence. It was during the North Korea?U.S. summit held at Panmunjom in June last year. When the U.S. joint press corps was entering the room where President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un were meeting, she got into a scuffle with North Korean security guards who tried to block them and ended up bruised. The New York Times (NYT) described her as "one of the few Trump administration officials who fought for the press."

Her successor is reportedly 31-year-old loyalist Kayleigh McEnany, who was the spokesperson for President Trump's re-election campaign. Except for the first press secretary Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary position under the Trump administration has been held by women three times in a row.

On the same day, President Trump also dismissed Glenn Fine, acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense and chairman of the $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief budget audit committee. Fine was a figure supported by the opposition Democratic Party but was suddenly replaced. The political media outlet The Hill interpreted this as possibly related to President Trump's statement that he would prevent the special inspector general from reporting to Congress on the budget audit without his supervision.