Melania Trump’s Former Aide Clarifies How the First Lady Really Feels About Christmas After She Famously Said ‘Who Gives a F—‘

Seven years after an audio recording captured her venting about the pressures of White House Christmas, Melania Trump’s former aide is offering a different view of how the first lady really feels about the holiday season.

This year is Melania’s first time back overseeing Christmas at the White House since her husband, Donald Trump, returned to office — and the spotlight is already intense. Public attention hasn’t faded from her 2018 holiday redesign, nor from the profane remarks she made in a leaked recording reacting to the backlash.

But Stephanie Grisham, who previously served as White House press secretary and later as Melania’s chief of staff, told the Daily Mail she doesn’t believe the first lady actually dislikes Christmas or the responsibilities that come with it. In Grisham’s words, Melania is “not a Grinch.”

Grisham — who resigned on Jan. 6, 2021, after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — said her former boss genuinely enjoys the season, especially events involving children.

According to Grisham, Melania “loves the holiday and she loves the events that have to do with children.” She added that Melania puts significant time and attention into the White House decorations, reinforcing her point: “So, she’s definitely not a Grinch.”

What bothers Melania, Grisham suggested, isn’t the decorating itself — it’s the reaction it draws.

“Does she like the constant criticism? Absolutely not, but who would like that,” Grisham said. She argued that it’s disappointing when the focus lands on controversy rather than the purpose of the season — including charitable efforts and activities involving kids. (This year, the first lady has attended holiday charity drives and read to patients at the Children’s National Hospital.)

White House holiday décor — and especially Melania’s more unconventional choices — became a recurring cultural flashpoint during Donald Trump’s first term.

In 2018, after going more traditional in her first year, Melania installed striking, blood-red conical Christmas trees. At the time, the White House described the trees — which Melania called “American Treasures” — as a symbol of “valor and bravery,” with colors inspired by the presidential seal. Melania also defended her “different taste,” saying the décor looks “even more beautiful” in person.

Even so, the display sparked a wave of memes and criticism online — the kind that still resurfaces every holiday season.

That same year, her frustration with the scrutiny was captured in a widely reported audio recording that was later leaked to CNN in 2020. In it, Melania could be heard complaining about the endless questions and pressure surrounding the White House Christmas workload.

“I’m working … my ass off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f— about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” she said in the leaked recording, in part. “But I need to do it, right?”

After Donald Trump won the presidency again in 2024, a mix of political sources, Mar-a-Lago Club members and Melania’s friends told PEOPLE that she would follow expected White House traditions this time, regardless of past controversies or her personal feelings.

“Melania will do what she is asked as first lady but under her own terms, and that includes decorating the White House for the Christmas holidays,” a social source said at the time. “She will set her own schedule, make her own rules and use her own taste.”

Added the insider “Will her attitude this term be any different than before? I doubt it.”