Ex-White House aide says ‘self-announced’ presser shows Trump is 'panicking'

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Thursday said former President Trump’s “self-announced” press conference shows the GOP presidential nominee is “panicking.”

In a post on the social platform X, the ex-Trump aide said she suspects the former president is frustrated by the positive press attention Vice President Harris has gotten recently and wants to take back the spotlight.

“Re: Trump’s self-announced press conference today at 2 pm: He’s panicking,” said Grisham, who also served as White House communications director and as first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff and press secretary.

“I’ve seen this play many times,” she continued. “He thinks his team is failing him & no one can speak better/’save’ his campaign/defend him but him. He hates the coverage Harris is getting & thinks only he can fix it.”

Trump announced Wednesday night he would hold a news conference Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The former president's announcement comes as his campaign seeks to turn Harris’s lack of media interviews into an issue on the campaign trail, as she surges in the polls and draws huge crowds at events.

Harris has not taken on-the-record questions from reporters since President Biden announced on July 21 that he would not seek reelection and Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket. 

“Kamala refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions, much like Biden was not able to answer questions, but for different reasons,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He is just plain ‘shot,’ and she is just plain ‘Incompetent.’”

A Trump campaign spokesperson responded to Grisham’s comments, writing in a statement to The Hill, “She should stick to talking about the Bombay Club in DC rather than politics.”