Stephanie Grisham Reportedly Bruised In Scuffle With North Korean Guards, Press
Newly minted White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham was swept up in a scuffle on Sunday between North Korean security guards and the press during President Donald Trump’s visit with dictator Kim Jong Un.
During the tussle, officials attempted to shove reporters away from the Inter-Korean House of Freedom where Trump and Kim were meeting, according to The Associated Press. The commotion became so intense that Grisham sustained bruises and the Secret Service intervened to let members of the U.S. press pool enter the room, the outlet reported.
Footage of the chaos obtained by The Washington Post shows Grisham attempting to make her way into the crowd before disappearing out of view as a woman can be heard shouting, “Let go of me!”
Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted that Grisham “threw herself into it” to get a U.S. television camera into the meeting “and it came to body blows.”
To add to madcap day at DMZ, the North Korean security was a little overzealous, at times trying to block US reporters’ view.
New WH press secretary Stephanie Grisham threw herself into it to make sure the US TV camera got into House of Freedom, and it came to body blows. pic.twitter.com/LYWhbJFkF5— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 30, 2019
ABC News’ Jonathan Karl also described the scene on Twitter, stating that Grisham physically cleared a path for White House reporters “by elbowing and pushing aside a security guard.”
Apparently some of the Korean (North?) security team did not want the US press in the Kim/Trump meeting. New press secretary @StephGrisham45 was not having it, physically clearing the way for the WH press pool by elbowing and pushing aside a security guard.
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) June 30, 2019
Trump met with Kim privately during an impromptu visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone where the two leaders shook hands. According to the president, both agreed to resume denuclearization talks.
Trump, who made history by setting foot on North Korean soil during his trip, called it “an important statement for all, and a great honor” in a tweet. However, his 2020 Democratic challengers remain unconvinced that it amounted to anything more than a photo op.
Grisham, who served as the spokeswoman for first lady Melania Trump, was tapped to fill the White House’s press secretary role after Sarah Huckabee Sanders submitted her resignation earlier this month. Sanders celebrated her last day in the White House on Friday.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.