this is "nightline." tonight, tough questions for stephanie grisham, the trump press secretary who never held a news skmps conference. >> do you think that dishonesty cost lives? >> yes. >> opening up about the former first family in an abc news exclusive. are you saying you believe the went who made allegations against president trump? >> i believe most of them. >> and what scares her now? plus, the unborn child at the heart of the landmark supreme court abortions right case, now all grown up and breaking her silence. >> it's time. >> how she feels about her biological mother, jane roe. >> she doesn't deserve to be my mom. >> and where she stands on the abortion debate.

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her bombshell new book is already trending. here's "nightline" >> how did you go from one of the loyalist loyals to a fierce critic, seemingly overnight? >> when you're in the east wing, everyone wants to keep melania trump and her staff happy. so we were treated very well. we were almost walled off a little bit from a lot of the toxic nature of the west wing. when i moved over to the west wing, i almost immediately started to regret it. >> reporter: stephanie grisham refers to herself as the longest serving trump hanger on. >> i am terrified of him running for president in 2024. i don't think he is fit for the job. i think that he is a narcissist, and cares about himself first and foremost. >> reporter: for six years, grisham had a front row seat to history, as white house press

secretary and chief of staff. in her new book, she says she's not looking for people to like her. >> liberal america thinks you should have done more, and that you were enabling. and the trump side of if world thinks that you're a traitor. >> correct. >> reporter: her biggest regret, not serving her country during the pandemic. >> do you think that misinformation or dishonestly cost lives? >> yes. >> with covid? >> yes. i will always think that, and i don't know that you can ever forgive yourself fully for being part of that. >> reporter: her rise in the trump orbit was remarkable. >> how did you go from press wrangler, one of many, to the innermost circle in the trump world? >> he really liked me as a press wrangler. he liked how tough i was. so i moved up. and then when i went to the east wing, mrs. trump and i became

very, very close. he would say, she just loves you, she just loves you. i think that made him trust me, as well. >> reporter: that closeness offered grisham an up close and personal view of a marriage that mystified the country. the hand slap, you said it was for her more of a matter of protocol. >> yes, mrs. trump was a rule follower. so that particular day, there was a very large welcoming ceremony at the bottom of the steps. we had landed in israel, and she thought that it was a formal procession to the stain. so when he tried to hold his hand, she slapped it away, mean thing is not appropriate right now. sometimes he would mess with her hand, and she would slap it away, and he was doing it to be funny. and i liked those moments. >> reporter: then there were the scandals that would plague donald trump, accusations of sexual consent and extramarital affairs. you had to tell melania trump about stormy daniels's lawsuit. what was that moment like? >> that was tough. as a woman, i have been cheated

on before, so that i was painful for me. it was very awkward. i've never had to do anything like that before. >> her reaction? >> it wasn't surprise oranger. she was very stoic. >> reporter: she claims that president trump was acting inappropriately towards a young press aide. in her words, ogling her. >> he would ask me to bring her up to the cabin. i wouldn't leave her, i always sat there. and he would talk to her about, you know, did you see my speech? what did you think? you know, i think have her compliment him. >> were you enabling him with this behavior? >> i thought about that a lot. in the white house, there's not like a human resources person you can go to do say the president of the united states is acting inappropriately. >> what were you worried might happen if >> that a young, impressionable girl would be put into a sich wagsz that made her uncomfortable. i was worried he would sexually

harass her. i didn't know. >> do you think she perceived what you refer to as inappropriate behavior? >> i don't know what she thinks. it's not about her, but his behavior. it's about someone who has had a lot of these allegations lobbed at him. >> are you saying that you believe the women who have made allegations against president trump? >> i believe most of them. >> reporter: she says she wishes she had done more, and compares her time in the west wing to the "hunger games." >> i became so obsessed with surviving, that i think i lost focus on why i was there, which was to serve the country. >> reporter: the book's title, a play on the fact that as press secretary, she never once held a formal press conference. >> should the american public believe what you're saying now when you, in many ways, were nonresponsive and not communicating transparently or honestly by your own admission? >> yes, fair question. the fact is, the president never wanted me to do a briefing.

selfishly, i was glad that was something he didn't want from me, because i didn't want to go out there and have to say something dishonest. >> you're quite open about the sort of dishonesty that was permeating the white house. your critics say if that's the case, how can we believe you now? >> because i am so honest in the book. i spare no one. i don't make myself look great in this book. i'm trying to lay out what happened, my story, what i saw. if people choose not to believe it, that's okay. >> reporter: she's privy to so much history, including a memorable exchange between president vladamir putin vladamir putin and president trump. >> he whispered something to president putin before you ushered in the press. ? >> that instance, he said, i'm going to be a little tough on you right now, but it's just for the kamras. then we'll talk after. you understand, you understand. yeah, putin didn't say a word. >> reporter: according to grisham, it seemed putin, the former kgb agent was playing off

of trump's weaknesses. >> he kept clearing his throat. i did find it odd he wouldn't take a drink of water. he knows how to get in someone's head. i will say the president talked to that translator. >> reporter: in a statement to abc news, the former first lady's team called grisham deceitful and trouble, adding she's manipulating and distorting the truth about mrs. trump. former president trump's team wrote -- stephanie didn't have what it takes, and that was obvious from the beginning. now she gets paid by a radical left leaning publisher to say bad and untrue things. >> what do you hold yourself accountable for? >> so many things. i wish i would have spoken out more about covid. i wish i would have told him he needs to wear >> reporter: but grisham continued to workst the to

th end of the capitol riots. so january 6, you say in the book was the straw that broke the camel's back, and you describe a first lady obsessing over carpets and a photo shoot, while people were storming the capitol. >> yes. >> reporter: she said she pleaded with the first lady to speak out against the violence. >> she just said no. and i sent an email, i think, about 45 minutes later resigning. my phone was cut off, and i've never talked to any of them again. >> reporter: she's now living in rural kansas, thousands of miles from the nation's capital. >> what should america know about donald trump? >> he does have some good policies that i am proud of. what scares me is that donald trump is out for donald trump. and i believe that if he were to get re-elected, the chaos would continue. he won't need to be re-elected

again. i think he will line his pockets. i believe he wanted to help the country in the beginning. i believe he wants to help himself now. >> our thanks to juju. "i'll take your questions now" hits stands now. up next, the woman who was the baby at the center of roe v. wade. you don't get much time for yourself. so when you do, make it count with crest pro-health. it protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth.

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shelley thornton was a toddler when roe v. wade was decided in 1973, and she's lived most of her life in anonymity, never knowing as a child how her

existence was at the center of that landmark case. for decades, shelley thornton has been living with a truth she's kept close to her heart. for a long time you didn't tell anybody who your biological mother was. what kind of weight was that? >> it's a lot of weight. i don't want people finding out that norma gave birth to me and then be like, oh, so it's because of you that all of this stuff happened. >> reporter: shelley, now 51, is the biological child of norma mckorvey, better known as jane roe, the plaintiff at the landmark supreme court case roe v. wade. norma was pregnant with shelley when she sued for the right to have an abortio in texas in the early '70s. even though she won, because it took longer for two years than the case to be decided, norma gave shelley up for adoption. when you are able to think about

the idea that your mere conception brought about arguably the most controversial supreme court ruling in history -- >> uh-huh. >> what's the impact on you now? >> now i understand it has nothing to do with me. it just happened to be me. >> reporter: norma, who died in 2017, was a complicated firebrand in public, and her daughter says the same was true in private. how would you describe norma? >> very self-centered. it was all about her. >> reporter: now shelley, who for years was not known publicly, is breaking her silence in her first broad cast interview. >> why are you deciding to tell your story now? >> it's time. >> reporter: although roe v. wade legalized abortion, the controversy and the debate never went forces to fight against new laws like sb-8 which makes most abortions in texas illegal after six weeks.

>> how can you be pro life and force a young girl to become a mother before she can even get her driver's license? >> reporter: it's a legal battle that began 50 years ago. >> my name is norma mccoryey, aka jane roe. >> reporter: in 1969, norma was 20 years old and living in texas when she became pregnant with shelley. she had already given up two daughters for adoption. wanting to terminate this pregnancy, she sought to challenge a state law that made abortion illegal. and against all odds, she won. but 22 years later in 1995, she famously and very controversially changed her stance, joining the radical anally abortion group operation rescue. >> ms. mccorvey, what happened? >> i became a christian. tuesday night i was baptized and now i have changed my position on choice.

>> reporter: then in 2017 -- >> this is my deathbed confession. >> reporter: a stunning revelation, as documented in the documentary, saying she never truly supported the anti-abortion movement. >> i took their money. they told me what to say. >> i think she used as much as she got used. >> reporter: as a baby, shelley was adopted by a couple in dallas. >> did you ever look for your biological parents? >> no. >> but in 1989, little did she know norma was looking for her. shelley says she was approached by people in a van. >> and they were like, your birth mother has sent us to find you. do you know who your birth mother is? i said no. they said, well, we would like to meet with you and tell you about her. >> reporter: shelley and her adoptive mother agreed to meet them at a restaurant. >> the investigator told us that

the person that she was working with was a reporter for the national enquirer. and then my mom was just like, you need to tell me right now who is this person? and that's when they told me her name was norma mccorvey, so that makes you the roe baby. >> what's your emotional state at this point? >> i'm just kind of in shock. my whole thinking is everyone is going to blame me for abortion being legal. >> have you felt like people want you to choose a side? >> oh, definitely. because even at the interview with the investigator and the national enquirer, they were asking me, are you pro choice or pro life? i'm like, i don't even know what that means. >> do you have an opinion about whether women should be allowed to have abortions? >> i do. it's an opinion i keep pretty close to my chest, just because i don't want either side or both

sides coming at me. >> reporter: having discovered the identity of her birth mother, 18-year-old shelley connects with norma by phone. >> she basically was like, i just wanted to make sure you're okay. and then it came to the, so are you going to do the interview? i was like, do what interview? she's like, for "the national enquirer." i was like oh, so, this isn't necessarily to find out if i'm okay. this is you want to have this big reunion. >> would you have been interested in meeting with her privately? >> i don't think so, just because i knew that she had three kids, and that she had given us all away. >> norma was quoted as saying at some point, i gave them all away so that they could have a chance at living. >> i believe that she gave the first two away for that. i don't think she wanted me at all. >> she was quoted as telling a

reporter in 1981 that abandoning shelley filled her with guilt. and then in 1985, she said, i would have much rather than i had an abortion. where do you land with hearing just such a harsh comment? >> there you go, right there. she gave up the privilege of having any kind of relationship with me when she made those comments. >> reporter: but shelley was interested in having a relationship with her older half sister, jennifer ferguson. the two met for the first time a few years ago. >> i came to her house and i knocked on her door. i was like, hello, sister. >> yeah, it was an amazing connection, because we had talked several times on the phone before that. >> jimm >> reporter: unlike shelley, jennifer didn't have to wrestle with the knowledge her birth mother considered aborting her. have you been able to forgive norma for giving you up? >> yes, yes. i have forgiven her for that.

>> the big conversation now is sb-8. what do you think about the new law here? >> it's a little bit scary, that people can judge how women are going to -- what they're going to do with their bodies. i have a problem with that. not that i'm pro choice, pro life, 100% either side. i just want what's right for everybody. i want it to be equal. >> reporter: today -- >> this is me and my mom. >> reporter: two sisters are trying to make up for lost time. while they both work individually to make peace with their complicated past, they now look to a new future together. >> what do you all bring to each other's lives at this point? >> support. >> comfort. >> aim loving it now that i got my sister right here beside me, and we can conquer things together. and that's something that not many people get to do. up next, bubba wallace,

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and finally tonight, history made in nascar. bubba wallace driving the number 23 car, becoming only the second black driver in history to win a cup series race. >> yeah! yeah! >> joining hall of famer wendell scott from 1963. wallace saying, it brings a lot of joy. and that's "nightline." watch all of our full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time tomorrow. good night.