Trump under pressure from Melania to fire
top aide
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[November 14, 2018]
By Mark Hosenball, Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump was under pressure from his wife, Melania, on Tuesday to fire his
deputy national security adviser over what two sources close to the
White House said was the way Mrs Trump's trip to Africa was handled.
Two presidential aides said Trump was considering forcing out deputy
national security adviser Mira Ricardel, but as of Tuesday afternoon,
the adviser remained in her West Wing office.
Melania Trump's office took the extraordinary step of issuing a
statement saying that Ricardel should be ousted. While first ladies
historically have been known to pressure their husbands over official
business, they do not typically issue statements about it.
"It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer
deserves the honor of serving in this White House," Stephanie Grisham,
the first lady's spokeswoman, said in a terse statement.
She gave no reason for why the first lady wanted Ricardel out but
several officials said it was related to Mrs. Trump's trip to Africa in
October.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Nov/14/images/ads/current/farmers_grain_sda_Ffarm_daily_2015.png)
The first lady had complained to the president that she was unhappy with
how she was treated by Ricardel, a former Boeing Co <BA.N> executive who
worked on the Trump presidential campaign and was picked by national
security adviser John Bolton to be his deputy earlier this year, two
other sources familiar with the White House intrigue told Reuters.
The sources said that Melania Trump explicitly asked the president to
oust Ricardel after their dealings over the Africa trip "didn't go
well." One source said that Melania Trump felt that Ricardel tried to
short-change the first lady when it came to government resources
allocated to support her Africa tour.
The sources did not elaborate.
The National Security Council (NSC) had no immediate comment. Ricardel
could not be reached for comment.
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that
Ricardel has never met the first lady.
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![](../images/111418pics/news_s36.jpg)
White House Deputy National Security Advisor Mira Ricardel (R)
appears with U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrives to
participate in the Diwali ceremonial lighting of the Diya at the
White House in Washington, U.S. November 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan
Ernst
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_101218.png)
A smiling Ricardel had a prominent spot at the front of the room at
a White House celebration marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of
lights, on Tuesday.
Grisham's statement was issued shortly after that event ended. White
House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had no immediate reaction to the
first lady's statement.
A source familiar with Ricardel's White House performance said she
has run afoul of much of the NSC staff and "sort of alienated
everyone" except for Bolton, who is currently traveling in Asia with
Vice President Mike Pence.
Ricardel was also believed to have had a dislike of Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis, current and former officials have told
Reuters.
One of the sources familiar with the mood at the White House said
tensions began building to a crisis point about a month ago and
serious efforts were made to defuse the dispute.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Nov/14/images/ads/current/elkhart_fertilizer_sda_FFARM_2017.png)
(Reporting by Mark Hosenball, Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton in
Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sonya Hepinstall)
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