Stephanie Grisham Defends Trump for ‘Counterpunching’ Attack on John Dingell … Who Died Almost a Year Ago

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham defended President Donald Trump’s attacks against late Rep. John Dingell, who has been dead for almost a year, saying that his implied comments about the Democratic Congressmen being in hell were just an example of him “counterpunching” and “riffing.”

During Trump’s Michigan rally on Wednesday night, he lashed out at Dingell after his wife Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), who has served in her husband’s seat since 2014, supported impeachment.

In response to George Stephanopoulos pressing her about the president’s knock against the dead, Grisham told the Good Morning America anchor, “I haven’t spoken to the president about that. I would say that I am very, very sorry for her loss and I would thank her and her late husband for all of the service to our country.”

“You’d have to talk to the president about that,” Grisham added when asked again why her boss made the comment. “He was at a political rally. He has been under attack and under impeachment attack for the last few months and then just under attack politically for the last two-and-a-half years. I think as we all know the president is a counterpuncher. It was a very, very supportive and wild crowd and he was just riffing on some of the things that had been happening in the past few days.”

While speaking at the Trump campaign rally, the president sarcastically called Debbie Dingell “a real beauty” and noted that he had U.S. flags lowered to half-mast to commemorate his passing.

“She calls me up: ‘It’s the nicest thing that’s ever happened. Thank you so much. John would be so thrilled. He’s looking down. He’d be so thrilled. Thank you so much, sir.’ I said, ‘That’s OK, don’t worry about it,” he continued. “Maybe he’s looking up, I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe. But let’s assume he’s looking down.”

Watch above, via ABC.