President Trump confirmed Friday that his personal assistant at the White House was fired after she said “things about my children” during an off-the-record dinner with reporters.
The president said White House aide Madeleine Westerhout, 28, was very upset when he spoke to her Friday about the incident. He said she told him that she had been drinking during the episode.
Ms. Westerhout reportedly bragged to reporters that she had a better relationship with Mr. Trump than his daughters, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, and that the president did not like being photographed with Tiffany because he perceived her as overweight.
The comments happened at an off-the-record dinner at a restaurant in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 17 with journalists who were covering the president’s working vacation at his golf club.
Arthur Schwartz, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., accused Washington Post journalist Philip Rucker of having “burned” Ms. Westerhout and of violating the Washington Post’s policies on sourcing. The Post said in a statement that Mr. Rucker has never violated the paper’s standards or policies.
The president said Ms. Westerhout “always did a good job,” and noted that the dinner was off the record. “I wish her well,” he said.
Mr. Trump called her comments “a little bit hurtful.”
“I love Tiffany,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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