A former top aide to President Donald Trump is raising fresh alarms about his mental state, following a rambling and low-energy press briefing that left even longtime observers uneasy.
Stephanie Grisham, who served as Trump’s White House press secretary during his first term, watched the president’s marathon appearance on Tuesday and said something felt off.
“This presser is bizarre even for him,” Grisham wrote on X. “It’s all the usual rambling, off-topic tales, half-truths, lies, ‘I’ve fixed everything – no one has ever seen anything like it’ stuff…but it’s low-energy & feels like he’s…mentally slipping. Congress-plz wake up. Plz. #EmperorHasNoClothes.”
This presser is bizarre even for him. It’s all the usual rambling, off-topic tales, half-truths, lies, “I’ve fixed everything – no one has ever seen anything like it” stuff…but it’s low-energy & feels like he’s…mentally slipping. Congress-plz wake up. Plz. #EmperorHasNoClothes
— Stephanie Grisham (@OMGrisham) January 20, 2026
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Grisham knows Trump well. She worked closely with him in the White House and later served as an aide to first lady Melania Trump. She resigned after the January 6 Capitol attack and has since become one of his most outspoken Republican critics.
In the years since leaving the administration, Grisham has openly broken with Trump and his movement. She endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and even took the stage at the Democratic National Convention, describing herself as a former “true believer.”
“Behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters,” she said at the time. “He calls them ‘basement dwellers.’ He has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.”
Her latest comments come as concerns about Trump’s fitness grow louder.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist who once treated former Vice President Dick Cheney, recently called for Congress to investigate Trump’s ability to serve. Reiner pointed to a strange letter Trump sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. In it, Trump appeared to link his threats to seize Greenland with his frustration over not receiving a Nobel Peace Prize.
“This letter, and the fact that the president directed that it be distributed to other European countries, should trigger a bipartisan congressional inquiry into presidential fitness,” Reiner wrote on X.
Democrats were quick to echo that call. Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona said the 25th Amendment “exists for a reason—we need to invoke it immediately.” Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts posted simply, “Invoke the 25th Amendment.”
Trump’s press briefing marked one year into his second term. Standing alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president jumped between topics, from immigration enforcement in Minnesota to his continued push for the United States to acquire Greenland.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
