Trump's former assistant gives first TV interview since firing: 'I take full responsibility'
The former 'gatekeeper' to the Trump White House says she wanted to be 'completely honest' in her new book
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump's former executive assistant spoke to "Fox & Friends" in her first on-camera interview about a "lapse in judgment" that got her fired in Aug. 2019 and a shocking personal detail she told the president just days ago.
Madeleine Westerhout, former director of Oval Office Operations, told host Steve Doocy about the "bad night" in which she made comments Trump described as "hurtful."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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, and at that dinner I said some things that I didn't mean and that I never should have said," Westerhout explained.
"And I deeply regret that but I take full responsibility for my actions that night," she said, "and really regret that I hurt people that I care about very, very much."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In her new book, "Off the Record: My Dream Job at the White House, How I Lost It, and What I Learned," which comes out Tuesday, Westerhout said she decided to be "completely honest," revealing a side of the president she says hardly any people ever get to see and some surprising personal details.
"I did not vote for President Trump in 2016," the former Republican National Committee staffer admitted.
Madeleine Westerhout, former personal secretary to President Trump and author of the new book 'Off the Record,' addresses the 'lapse in judgement' that cost her her job and more on 'Fox & Friends.' (Fox & Friends)
"I absolutely did not vote for Hillary Clinton," she added, "but, in 2016, you know, I had never met the president and everything I knew about him I based off what the mainstream media told me, and it wasn't until I got to know him and know his character that I realized how wrong I had been."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Westerhout, who served as a gatekeeper to the president with her desk outside the Oval Office, now describes the president as "a very kind and generous man," a "great leader and encouraging boss," adding "I cannot wait to cast my vote for him on November 3rd."
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"Until then, there is going to be no greater supporter of President Trump than me," Westerhout said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One thing she said that is "misrepresented" about Trump in the mainstream media is "his deep admiration and respect for women."
"He promotes women. He surrounds himself with strong, intelligent women. He is married to one. He has raised two of them," she said, referring to Ivanka and Tiffany. "Every interaction I have seen and had with him has just been showing ... how much President Trump respects women."
According to Politico, Westerhout shared intimate details about the president's family – including about daughters Ivanka and Tiffany -- during the dinner with reporters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Days after the firing, Trump tweeted that he "forgave" Westerhout and called her "a very good person," adding "I love Tiffany, doing great!"
Westerhout shared with Doocy that she has learned a lot and taken time to reflect on how she has treated people.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"One of the things that I take most out of this experience is that there is going to be bumps along the road. That's inevitable. We're all human," she said. "I made a mistake and I decided I wasn't going to let that one night, one mistake, define me."
She says she wrote the book "to get the truth out there and to show the American people the president that I know and love."