Stephanie Grisham’s new book, I’ll Take Your Questions Now, has been a real eye-opener, providing a particularly intimate look into the lives of Donald and Melania Trump during their days inside the White House. SheKnows reports that Grisham, the former White House press secretary and spokesperson for the former first lady paints a less than rosy picture of the Trump marriage in her book.

One incident, in particular, brings out some of the worst aspects of former President Donald Trump’s bullying, narcissistic behavior towards Melania. Grisham tries unsuccessfully to portray Trump as being “playful” with his wife.

The incident revolves around Trump’s fondness for the song It’s A Man’s World by James Brown, someone he also purportedly greatly admired. It’s also one of the songs commonly used to calm him down when he was enraged about something. But on this particular evening, he cranked the song up and blasted it right outside Melania’s door while she was in the middle of a nap.

Here’s Grisham’s thoughts on the occasion:

“Once when we were listening to music, the president, in kind of a zany mood, stood up, grabbed a speaker, and walked it over to the door to the bedroom in his cabin,” she writes. “The room was dark, since Mrs. Trump was sleeping (of course.) Trump took the speaker, turned up “It’s A Man’s World” to the highest volume, and raised it over his head so that the music filled the bedroom.”

Grisham added the “of course” because Melania apparently loves taking naps but things get a bit weird from here on out because she tries to portray the situation as a joke but then writes:

“Although I was laughing, part of me thought ‘Oh sh*t, I do not want to be here if Mrs. Trump gets up,” then adds. “She never did. He did it to be playful with his wife, not cruel, and she certainly didn’t take it otherwise.”

Melania Trump allegedly did not want to have the same image as Hillary Clinton in light of Donald Trump's affairs. https://t.co/1nFflTWNas

— SheKnows (@SheKnows) October 6, 2021

If Grisham really thought this was a playful gesture, why was she so worried if it awakened the former first lady? Louisa Ballhaus, who wrote the story for SheKnows, had to wonder if this wasn’t purely a narcissistic intimidation tactic, especially considering his choice of song.

“Blasting loud music at someone to wake them from sleep, and particularly doing so in front of an audience, sends the message of ‘I can do whatever I want to you, and no one will help you,'” she writes.

And it’s not as if Grisham didn’t understand the real implications of this song. She even notes that she “talked [Trump] out of including the song in his rallies because it wouldn’t have been a good look for him.” Then, by using a not particularly surprising quote by Trump, she notes Brown’s history of d0mestic vi0lence.

“He [Trump] would make us watch a black and white video on repeat that showed James Brown singing the song live,” Grisham writes. “The president would provide a running commentary: ‘Look at that, that’s a great performer,’ ‘You know, they say he was abus1ve, I don’t know.”

According to Grisham, Melania didn’t emerge from the room after her husband’s stunt, so quite obviously we don’t know if she found it “playful” or not. But those of us who have been in horrible relationships can tell you this kind of behavior is not “playful.” It’s manipulative and it leads Ballhaus to note:

“Grisham says throughout the book that she wishes she had spoken out more, done more to combat the dishonesty and corruption within the White House where she served. This passage suggests that she has not yet mastered that level of candor.”

Grisham wasn’t the only person in the Trump administration to be plagued by this issue. Mike Pompeo, Kayleigh McEnany, Sarah Sanders, and Jeff Sessions, and many other former aides seem to be candor-challenged. And of course, Trump himself, who spun more fairytales than the brothers Grimm.