Republican donors were in for a unique show when Kimberly Guilfoyle took the mic at private fundraisers, a new book reveals.
The senior adviser for Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign enjoyed giving donors “an unwanted glimpse” into her personal life with Donald Trump Jr., saying that the president’s oldest son liked her to dress up as a sexy cheerleader, according to a new book, “Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost,” by Wall Street Journal reporter Michael C. Bender.
The former Fox News host and one-time first lady of San Francisco also shared how she called her boyfriend a “naughty boy” when she “let him out of his cage,” according to an excerpt of the book published by the Daily Mail. She described him as “Braveheart meets honey badger,” Bender’s book also reveals.
In some campaign settings, the pro-Trump crowds loved it when Guilfoyle, 52, appeared on stage with Trump Jr., 43, and they engaged in teasing banter about their relationship, the book said. After the two started dating in the spring of 2018, they became known as an in-demand duo at Trump campaign events — “the prom king and queen of MAGA land,” a senior Trump advisor told Business Insider for a report in October.
Bender’s 432-page book, to be published July 13, also offers the latest account of reports that Guilfoyle talked or acted in sexually suggestive ways at political events or in workplace settings. Sometimes her behavior made people uncomfortable, reports have said. Bender’s book also is the latest to describe her talking about apparent Trump Jr.’s delight in her dressing up as a cheerleader.
Following the Nov. 3 election, Politico published a detailed autopsy of Trump’s loss to Joe Biden, which reported that Guilfoyle “underperformed” in her job as a top campaign fundraiser, and quoted senior campaign officials who called her “an H.R. nightmare.”
“Some donors were horrified by what they described as Guilfoyle’s lack of professionalism: She frequently joked about her sex life and at one fundraiser, offered a lap dance to the donor who gave the most money,” Politico wrote.
During an event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last year, Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. joked about how she raised money in hot tubs, Politico reported. At another fundraiser in the fall of 2018, headlined by country star Toby Keith, Guilfoyle joked that Trump Jr. liked it when she dressed up as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, an attendee told Politico.
After Trump’s loss, Guilfoyle occasionally became a Twitter trending topic with video clips of her doing a sexy dance at pro-Trump events.
Live shot of Kimberly Guilfoyle at CPAC. pic.twitter.com/aCy5pSC2rC
— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) February 26, 2021
Trump Jr. notoriously recorded his girlfriend dancing backstage before the Jan. 6 Washington D.C. rally for Trump supporters, who, fired up by the 45th president’s false claims about election fraud, stormed the U.S. Capitol. One Twitter user hashtagged his post about Guilfoyle’s Jan. 6 dance “#TheSeditionShuffle.”
There’s a dancing 💩 emoji!? #TheSeditionShuffle@kimguilfoyle @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/YCEkw8wWjZ
— Michael Ⓜ️ (@michaelschweitz) January 7, 2021
A month before the November election, Guilfoyle was the subject of a New Yorker investigative story, which suggested she had to leave Fox News in the summer of 2018 because of sexual harassment allegations made by a former assistant. Before the New Yorker report, the popular explanation for Guilfoyle’s departure from Fox was that she wanted to avoid conflicts of interest posed by her new romance with Trump Jr.
Reporter Jane Mayer detailed allegations in a 42-page draft complaint, which said that Guilfoyle showed lewd photos of male genitalia to colleagues, regularly discussed sexual matters at work, urged the assistant “to submit to a Fox employee’s demands for sexual favors,” and exposed herself to the assistant while asking for a critique of her naked body.
The story furthermore described efforts by Guilfoyle to cover up the allegations, citing well-informed sources who said the network paid the former assistant up to $4 million to avoid a trial.
In her response to the New Yorker report, Guilfoyle referred to her time as a prosecutor in San Francisco in the early 2000s, before and during her marriage to Gavin Newsom.
“In my 30-year career working for the SF District Attorney’s Office, the LA District Attorney’s Office, in media and in politics, I have never engaged in any workplace misconduct of any kind,” she said in a statement.
Politico said Guilfoyle’s team denied assertions that they weren’t taking their jobs seriously enough or not raising enough money. The team pointed to a series of successful, high-dollar fundraisers as a mark of their success.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh specifically addressed the allegations of sexually suggestive comments, telling Politico: “Kimberly Guilfoyle is an excellent fundraiser and was a highly valued asset to the President’s team. There was nothing offensive about her presentations in context.”
Since Trump left the White House, Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. have moved to Florida, where they purchased a home in Jupiter near his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump, and their five children. In April, it was announced that Guilfoyle was getting back into campaigning, this time as national chair for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022.
In announcing that Guilfoyle was joining his campaign, Greitens praised her work for Trump’s re-election efforts, Politico reported.
“Her work on behalf of President Donald J. Trump was unmatched,” Greitens said in a statement. “With Kimberly Guilfoyle as our national chair, I know we have a true fighter that will further elevate this campaign and help us win the support of every Missourian.”
