The Washington Post/ Getty
President Donald Trump and his personal assistant Madeleine Westerhout.
- Madeleine Westerhout, President Donald Trump's assistant since the onset of his presidency, was fired on Thursday after she gossiped about Trump's daughters and bragged to news reporters about her access, according to a Politico report.
- Westerhout, who had a "couple drinks ... in an uncharacteristically unguarded moment," jokingly disparaged Tiffany, Trump's youngest daughter, according to one of Politico's sources.
- She reportedly added that Trump did not enjoy being pictured with Tiffany because he believed her to be overweight.
- It is not unusual for White House officials to have informal off-the-record meetings with journalists.
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Madeleine Westerhout, President Donald Trump's assistant since the onset of his presidency, was fired on Thursday after she bragged to news reporters about her relationship with Trump and gossiped about his daughters, according to a Politico report.
Westerhout made the comments earlier in August during an off-the-record dinner with a group of journalists and the White House deputy press secretary, Hogan Gidley, two people with knowledge of the incident said in Politico.
Gidley eventually left the group for another interview, leaving Westerhout alone for 45 minutes to an hour with reporters from The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal.
The reporters were covering Trump's working vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey at the time. It's not unusual for White House officials to have informal off-the-record meetings with journalists.
Westerhout, who had a "couple drinks ... in an uncharacteristically unguarded moment," jokingly disparaged Tiffany, Trump's youngest daughter, according to one of Politico's sources. She reportedly claimed that she had a better relationship with Trump - moreso than first daughter Ivanka, and Tiffany.
She added that Trump did not enjoy being pictured with Tiffany because he believed her to be overweight, Politico reported.
One official blamed "the media" for having leaked information about the off-the-record meeting.
"This was an off-the-record dinner and [they] blatantly violated that agreement," the official reportedly said.
Westerhout, who worked as the director of Oval Office operations, was also involved in an internal White House power struggle, according to news reports. An unnamed adviser said in an earlier Politico article that Westerhout attempted to take on a bigger role in recent months, including work that involved international travel.
This friction reportedly irritated officials, who believed she was best served as Trump's personal secretary.
The New York Times first reported on Westerhout's ouster on Thursday evening.
Westerhout reportedly earned an annual salary of $95,000 as Trump's assistant in 2017 before her promotion to Oval Office director two years later, which paid her a salary of $145,000.
The California native and College of Charleston graduate previously worked as an intern for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.
"I don't think it will hit me until I walk into the White House," she said in 2017, according to her college's website. "It's such an honor."