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Former press secretary to Donald Trump, Stephanie Grisham, said in a new interview on CNN’s “New Day” that Jared Kushner was able to navigate the White House freely without being checked or “challenged” because he was Trump’s son-in-law.

“I believe that he and Ivanka kind of thought they were a shadow president and first lady,” she said.

Grisham appeared on the show Tuesday where she discussed her book, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now,” and what it was like working with Kushner, who she refers to as “Rasputin in a slim suit” in her book.

She said Kushner inserted himself into affairs that didn’t concern him and “would dive into these areas where I know he had absolutely no expertise and, you know, claim to save the day, and then he would leave.”

She said that he “got really heady with power,” would disappear with Ivanka Trump on vacation when conflicts arose, and probably did not leave the White House “the best version of himself.”

She also said she believed that both Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump were intelligent, but that Ivanka was likely “the brains” behind the shadow president.

Grisham was the Press Secretary for Former President Trump for a total of nine months before returning to work for Melania Trump.

Trump responded to the book by referencing Grisham’s break-up with a former White House, who she claimed was abusive, CNN reported.

“Stephanie didn’t have what it takes and that was obvious from the beginning. She became very angry and bitter after her break up and as time went on she was seldom relied upon, or even thought about,” he said.

“Now, like everyone else, she gets paid by a radical left-leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things,” the former president added.

The Office of Donald J. Trump did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

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