Trump: Fired aide made comments about children

by Morgan Chalfant and Brett Samuels - 08/30/19 6:06 PM ET

President Trump on Friday said his personal secretary was ousted after she made remarks about his children during an off the record dinner with reporters.

Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Camp David that he’d just spoken with Madeleine Westerhout, who was fired a day earlier.

“I guess she said some things. She called me. She was very upset. She was very down,” Trump said.

{mosads}Trump would not say definitively whether or not he fired Westerhout, saying it was “automatic.”

“She called and I wished her well,” he added.

His comments came shortly after Politico published a report saying Westerhout was fired because she told reporters during an Aug. 17 dinner that Trump did not like appearing in photos with his daughter Tiffany because he thought she was overweight.

Trump denied making the comments, saying it was “absolutely false.”

“She’s going to be calling me when we get to Camp David … It’s absolutely false. She’s a wonderful person and she studies hard,” he said of his youngest daughter.

The news outlet also said that Westerhout bragged that she had a better relationship with the president than he did with his daughters.

Trump defended his relationship with his youngest daughter, Tiffany, when asked about the report.

“Tiffany is great. I love Tiffany,” he told reporters.

Politico reported that Westerhout’s comments came after she had a couple drinks and after deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley had gone to do an interview with Fox News.

Trump on Friday chastised the media, claiming they leaked the details of the off the record conversation and calling them “dishonest.”

“But still, you don’t say things like she said, which were just a little bit hurtful to some people,” he said.

It’s common for reporters to meet with White House sources in an informal and off the record setting, particularly while traveling.

The president said Westerhout had a “bad night” and noted that she was drinking with reporters when she made the comments.

“I think she had a bad night,” Trump said.

As a special assistant to the president, Westerhout was a gatekeeper to the Oval Office. She oversaw the president’s schedule and had intimate knowledge of who interacted with Trump.

Westerhout is a former Republican National Committee aide who was featured prominently in one scene of the recent book “American Carnage.” Author Tim Alberta reported that Westerhout was “inconsolable” and crying on election night 2016 at the prospect of Trump winning.

As of Friday evening, Westerhout’s official government Twitter account was still active with a profile image that showed her with the president, who is flashing a thumbs up.

Tags Donald Trump