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Madeleine Westerhout is among the staff members Donald Trump dismissed during his presidency. She served as Trump’s executive personal assistant for most of his term, starting in January 2017, when Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president. Initially thrilled about her role, Westerhout’s tenure ended abruptly after two and a half years due to disparaging remarks she made about Trump’s family. According to Politico, she criticized the weight of Trump’s youngest daughter, Tiffany, and implied she had a closer relationship with Trump than his children did.
Westerhout made these comments at an “off the record” dinner, assuming her remarks wouldn’t be shared. However, the reporters present reported her comments, leading to her termination. After her dismissal became public, Trump addressed the situation on X (formerly known as Twitter), acknowledging her mistake but extending a surprising olive branch. He tweeted, “While Madeleine Westerhout has a fully enforceable confidentiality agreement, she is a very good person and I don’t think there would ever be reason to use it. She called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. I fully understood and forgave her!” Despite his forgiving tone, Trump still decided to let her go.
Westerhout’s Reflections on Her Firing
In 2020, Westerhout appeared on “Fox & Friends” to discuss what led her to make the unfortunate comments about Trump. She explained, “On a rare day off, after a couple of drinks by the pool, I accepted an invitation to an off-the-record dinner with four reporters and a White House colleague of mine. At that dinner, I said some things that I didn’t mean and that I never should have said. And I deeply regret that, but I take full responsibility for my actions that night and really regret that I hurt people that I care about very, very much.” She emphasized that she wouldn’t let the incident define her future.
Her comments mirrored Trump’s earlier statements, where he suggested that alcohol had influenced her behavior. In August 2019, Trump told reporters, “I think she said some things. And she called me. She was very upset. She was very down. And she said she was drinking a little bit. And she was with reporters, and everything she said was off the record.” Trump acknowledged the severity of her remarks but reiterated that he didn’t see her drinking as an excuse, though he still considered her a “good person” and praised her work.
Westerhout’s Testimony in Trump’s Criminal Trial
Westerhout later testified for the prosecution in Trump’s criminal hush money trial. She recounted her dismissal, describing it as a “regretful youthful indiscretion” and expressed that she had learned a lot from the experience. During her testimony, she discussed checks Trump reportedly paid to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly to influence the election by concealing an affair with Stormy Daniels. Westerhout described receiving checks in a FedEx envelope containing a manila folder with a stack of checks.
She also provided insights into Trump’s social media habits, noting his preference for capitalizing certain words like “country,” using exclamation points, and favoring the Oxford comma. Westerhout also reiterated her positive view of working for Trump, promoting him as a supporter of women during her “Fox & Friends” interview. She stated, “He promotes women. He surrounds himself with strong, intelligent women. He is married to one. He has raised two of them.”