Gresham played several different roles in the Trump administration. If you ask me, she made some pretty bad choices, always choosing to stay and overlook missteps by Trump and the administration. She does share some of the "dirty laundry," but also often accompanied by excuses and putting down Democrats, and the press in the process. There are no footnotes or bibliography, and many quotes without attribution.

One thing bothered me. She mentions her 2 sons early on, and then says she will not mention them again, for their privacy and safety. OK. She refers to herself several times as a single mother. My question is: where are those 2 sons while she is working non-stop, sleeping on the floor of her office, taking international trips, maintaining an apartment in DC, or living with a boyfriend in DC? We don't need to know great detail, but you would think she'd mention childcare, or a nanny, or something somewhere at some point.

Oh, and she presents herself as some amazing journalist and press person, but then why does she not know, for example, who Chuck Schumer is when she attends a meeting he is at (well into her tenure in the jobs)? ( )

Stephanie Grisham joined the Donald Trump presidential campaign in 2016 as a junior press wrangler, responsible for getting the press in and out of briefings and meetings. Over the next five years she would rise through the ranks as the First Ladies' communication director, White House communications director and press secretary, and then the First Ladies' Chief of Staff. In an administration with very high turnover, her tenure is quite remarkable. On January 6, 2021, she resigned amidst the chaos of the riots at the Capitol, the first, but not only one to do so. In her book, Grisham walks through some of the pivotal issues and scandals that plagued the administration in a chatty way, telling some funny stories, giving some context to a few incidents she was involved in, and explaining why she served the Trump family so long and why she ultimately left.

I have not read a lot of political memoirs and tend to avoid them, but was pleasantly surprised at not being able to put this one down. Whether it was the informal tone, often humorous, or the fact that the times she describes is like, as she writes, "a clown car on fire running at full speed into a warehouse full of fireworks." There is no easy way to verify the accuracy of her account, and I was a bit annoyed at her habit of inserting quotes, such as at the beginning of chapters, without attribution. She is, after all, an expert at political communications, so who knows the degree of spin being used. Still, it was an entertaining read, if not particularly revelatory. ( )

Stephanie Grisham had been involved in politics and journalism for a long time when she got hired by the Trump administration. Her first position was on the Trump campaign. She eventually became press secretary, First Lady’s communication director, and chief of staff, working all three positions simultaneously for one period.
She, therefore, had the inside look at the administration from several, unique angles.
While she agreed with many of the positions that Trump articulated, and was loyal to Trump and Melania for a very long time, she eventually lost her confidence in them. She resigned on January 6th, the first administrative official to do so after the insurrection.
There is probably not much in I’LL TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS NOW that readers of this book will not have already heard. Included are examples of the way Trump treated women and anyone who disagreed with him, the way his children, especially Ivanka and Jared, took advantage of their family connections, demanding privileges to which they were not entitled, and the relationship between the first couple. It took her longer time figure out what Melania was about.
Examples of life within the White House:
Putin played Trump from the start trying, often successfully, to distract and derail him.
There was a huge turnover of high ranking staff members during the administration. The new person was announced with accolades. Within a short period of time, Trump would undermine them and get them to leave.
The job of the Press Secretary is to present the President’s views to the media. Sean Spicer quickly learned that lies and distortions were to be presented as the truth.

Interesting facts:

Melania did not speak publically very much because she was concerned about her accent. Often, she was able to get her husband to “dial back his rhetoric.” She wasn’t willing to do that on January 6. Like her husband, she did not take advice very well.
Because of the public response, Trump was very upset about the “I don’t care do you jacket” Melania wore to a refugee camp. He was the one who suggested the spin that it was directed at the media.
The map he showed of the hurricane threatening Alabama, with him using a Sharpie to change the parameters, was based on the original report he received. Once the path changed, Trump insisted on using the earlier information.
I’LL TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS NOW explains how the system worked. It doesn’t really explain why Grisham stayed so long. ( )