Kellyanne Conway has been absent from the national spotlight as of late, and that may be by design. CNN spoke with White House insiders who say that Conway was “sidelined” from television for a week after making statements that didn’t line up with the White House agenda, most notably with her flub on Michael Flynn’s resignation.
Conway has been the most visible Trump surrogate and makes TV appearances whenever she can. But when revelations surfaced about how former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn lied about his conversation with a Russian ambassador, Conway may have gotten her lines crossed.
She said Flynn had Trump’s “full confidence,” but hours later, he resigned. The next day, Conway said Flynn offered to resign, something that contradicted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s statement that Trump asked for his resignation. This earned the frustration of Matt Lauer, who isn’t known to get huffy during interviews. CNN reports that the public scrutiny that she faced was enough for her to earn a time out:
“Those statements, which came amid existing public scrutiny over Conway’s credibility, led the president and his top advisers to conclude that her appearances were doing more harm than good for the administration, the sources said.
She was ‘off message,’ a White House source said.”
Between the Flynn matter, plugging Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, talking about the horrors of the “Bowling Green Massacre,” and accidentally retweeting a white nationalist, Conway may have needed a reprieve to recharge her batteries. It looks as her exile may be almost over, although she told CNN that the break was her decision. She will reportedly appear on Fox News on Wednesday night: “I’ve been invited on shows every day, including two Sunday shows. I’m trying to focus on other pieces of my portfolio.”
An interesting development CNN threw in is that Conway’s absence has made Spicer’s life a bit easier, as they reported she might have leaked negative stories about him to the press.
(Via CNN)