Stephanie Grishamformer White House press secretary during the Trump administration, will speak at the Democratic National Convention to show support for Vice President Kamala Harris this weekAnd she encourages other Republicans to join her in “ensuring that Donald Trump never returns to the White House.”
“I never thought I would speak at a Democratic convention,” Grisham said in a statement. “But after seeing firsthand who Donald Trump really is and the threat he poses to our country, I am very motivated to speak out.”
Grisham, who served in several roles in the Trump White House before resigning following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said that while she doesn’t agree with Harris on every issue, she is “proud to support her” presidential bid. She said Harris “will defend our freedoms and represent our nation with honesty and integrity.” NBC News was first to report the news.
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The former press secretary won’t be alone at the convention this week. Another former Trump official, former national security adviser Olivia Troye, is also expected to speak in the coming days, a Harris campaign official told CBS News. Delegates will also hear from Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, all Republicans.
Kinzinger said Tuesday he would speak Thursday.
On the first night of the convention, the DNC aired testimonials from Republicans who said they voted for Trump but now plan to support Harris. Austin Weatherford, the Harris-Walz campaign’s Republican engagement director, said the programming “is just the latest effort by our campaign to reach out to anti-Trump Republicans,” adding in a statement that the campaign “will continue to remind Republican and independent voters that Donald Trump does not represent their values.”
The Harris-Walz campaign launched the push to Republicans who may be disillusioned with Trump earlier this month, after President Biden stepped down and endorsed Harris. The Biden campaign had already increased efforts to target supporters of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and moderate Republicans in general, such as with the hiring of Weatherford, Kinzinger’s longtime chief of staff.
