Trump Doubles Down on Max Miller Endorsement, Despite Abuse Allegations From Former Press Secretary
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Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his endorsement of sending Max Miller (R-OH) to Congress, despite highly-publicized allegations of domestic abuse and the recent burnout of a similarly scandal-plagued, Trump-supported candidate in Pennsylvania.
Miller has been accused by ex-girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, who served as both press secretary and communications director in the Trump White House, of abuse during their relationship.
“As you talk about, actually I talk about, today, I had an ex that I dated and there was abuse in every way there,” Grisham told CNN’s Jake Tapper in October. “That’s something that I actually told the president and first lady about.”
“The person you talk about, you don’t name him in the book, but his name is Max Miller, he is running for Congress,” Tapper added. Grisham added during the interview, “It was like a gut punch when I saw that he [Trump] endorsed him [Miller] knowing what happened.”
Trump said of Miller in a Tuesday statement:
Max will be running in the 13th District where he will help lead the path back to a strong GOP majority. Max will be a powerful voice for America First and will fight to rein in the Communist Democrats’ radical agenda. Max has my Complete and Total Endorsement!
Trump’s statement comes days after a new congressional map was signed into law in Ohio, shifting which district Miller is running in.
Miller worked on both of Trump’s presidential campaigns and in the White House. Politico points out Miller is “not merely a loyalist … [he] used proximity to the president to foster by all accounts an actual affinity and rapport” and that “he’s not just one of Trump’s ‘Complete and Total’ House endorsements—he was the first.”
Miller is denying claims he pushed and slapped Grisham while they were dating. He is also suing Grisham for defamation and asked a judge in Cleveland to order Grisham not to repeat the claims she first made in an op-ed in the Washington Post.
Trump’s statement reaffirming his endorsement of Miller comes a day after Sean Parnell, Trump’s choice to replace retiring Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), suspended his campaign. Parnell announced he was leaving the campaign trail hours after a judge granted his estranged wife full custody of their children, in a case that involved allegations of domestic abuse – which became a major issue in the Republican primary.
