| Kellyanne Conway | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Location: | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | •Trinity University •The George Washington University Law School | ||
| Website: | Official website | ||
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Kellyanne Conway is a former counselor to President Donald Trump. She was Trump's campaign manager during his 2016 presidential campaign.[1] A longtime pollster and analyst, Conway specializes in polling data concerning women and younger voters.
On August 23, 2020, Conway announced she would leave the White House at the end of the month, citing a desire to spend more time with her family.[2]
Contents
- 1 Early career
- 1.1 Legal career
- 1.2 Polling career
- 1.3 Hoover Institution
- 1.4 National Review Online
- 2 Ted Cruz super PAC, 2016
- 3 Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- 3.1 Senior advisor
- 3.2 Promotion to campaign manager
- 3.3 Initial effects as campaign manager
- 3.4 Deportation force comments
- 3.5 Criticism of Republican leadership
- 3.6 Comments on accepting the election outcome
- 4 Donald Trump presidential administration
- 4.1 Alternative facts
- 4.2 Bowling Green Massacre
- 4.3 Ivanka Trump brand appeal
- 4.4 Comments on Mike Pence and 2020 election
- 5 Personal
- 6 Recent news
- 7 See also
- 8 External links
- 9 Footnotes
Early career
Legal career
Conway is a former attorney and member of the bar in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. In addition to having practiced law, Conway also served as a judicial clerk for Judge Richard A. Levie in Washington, D.C., and taught law as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law Center.[4][5]
Polling career
Conway is the founder and president of The Polling Company, Inc./Woman Trend. Woman Trend, which was founded with the aim of connecting "corporate America with the female consumer," was created in 1993 and eventually became a division of The Polling Company.[6] The Polling Company was founded in 1995. The company has offices in New York and in Washington, D.C.
According to her biography, Conway, as a pollster, has worked with former Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Steve King (R-Iowa), and Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). She has also worked with other politicians, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) as well as Mike Pence (R-Ind.).[4]
Hoover Institution
In the late 1990s, Conway, then known by her maiden name, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, was a media fellow with the Hoover Institution, where she studied cultural trends and the defining features of Generation X. In a 1997 roundtable discussion on Generation X, she described the group as having "a sort of quiet revolution about them." She went on to say, "It's a latent conservatism but it's [sic] also is libertarianism. If I could choose five words to define the generation it actually would be tolerant, multi-cultural ... entrepreneurial ... Libertarian and self-reliant. With self-reliant slash Internet because it's all really, we've to find some way to harness all that into this idea that they're not going to, they're unanchored to every institution."[7][8]
National Review Online
Beginning in 2005, Conway and her husband George Conway co-authored a blog, "Reconcilable Differences," for National Review. The two alternated posting on news stories and questions of polling with a conservative point of view. Conway published on the notion of "electability" and her belief that appealing to a candidate's perceived ability to win is an irrational basis for supporting or opposing a candidate.[9] In March 2006, she wrote, "[E]lectability is a vague concept that excuses laziness, substitutes for effort and reinforces lemming-like agreement and shopworn convention."[10]
The blog also featured Conway's thoughts on broader political topics and Democratic candidates for office, including comments on Hillary Clinton's 2006 U.S. Senate run. Conway said, "Her pollster was paid $1.1 million. I know Mark Penn is creative, but all the focus groups in the world can’t make her less Hillary and more Clinton. How many ways can you ask people in a survey if they prefer to see you in the black pantsuit or the navy one, if they regard you more as Margaret Thatcher or Joan of Arc?"[11]
Ted Cruz super PAC, 2016
- See also: Keep the Promise Super PACs
As president, Conway led the Robert Mercer-backed Keep the Promise I super PAC that supported former 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.[12] While working for the super PAC, Conway said the following about Cruz:[12]
| “ | Ted Cruz has proven that he won't back down from fighting to protect our country, to uphold the rule of law, or to demand an end to the cronyism so common in government today. Senator Cruz is a rebel with a cause, a cause that demands our Constitution be defended, that our nation’s exceptionalism be heralded, that government stop spending money it doesn’t have, and that true freedom and opportunity be within reach for all Americans. Ted Cruz is the leader we stand behind.[13] | ” |
Politico described her spending strategy as being "surgical" and focused on "spending on digital, cable, direct mail and radio, in addition to TV."[14]
On May 4, 2016, after the Indiana primary, in which fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump defeated Ted Cruz, Cruz announced that he was suspending his 2016 campaign.[15]
Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
| More on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign staff |
|---|
| Staff overview |
| • Trump staff overview |
| Management and strategy |
•Steve Bannon, Executive chairman |
| Communications |
•Hope Hicks, Communications director |
| Advisors |
•Roger Stone, Informal advisor |
- See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
Senior advisor
On July 1, 2016, The Washington Post reported that the Donald Trump campaign had hired Conway to be a senior advisor to campaign chairman Paul Manafort. At the time, Trump described Conway: "Kellyanne is a tremendous asset to our rapidly-expanding campaign team. She is a data and messaging expert and terrific on TV. It is great to have her on board."[1]
On July 16, 2016, it was reported that as Conway's initial role would be to advise vice presidential candidate Mike Pence and serve as a liaison between the Trump and Pence staffs.[16]
Promotion to campaign manager
On August 17, 2016, Conway became the campaign manager for Trump's presidential run, filling the spot left open when Corey Lewandowski was fired in June. After Lewandowski's departure, campaign management duties were unofficially split between campaign chair Paul Manafort and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. After her promotion to campaign manager, Conway told The New York Times, "It’s an expansion at a busy time in the final stretch of the campaign."[1]
Initial effects as campaign manager
On August 18, 2016, Trump gave a speech in which he expressed "regret" if his past remarks had personally hurt anyone. Republican pollster Kristin Soltis Anderson told Fox News that the change in Trump's tone was a direct result of Conway's influence on the campaign. Anderson said,[17]
| “ | She has sort of long preached that Trump would be best off focusing on showing that he's a little more empathetic, addressing some of these concerns about his temperament. Bringing her in earlier this week signaled that there was a chance that he might make this turn. It remains to be seen how long he’ll be able to stay on this message. But it's a good sign for him at least that he seems to be willing to pivot away from the sort of tone that got him so far in the primary to something that will hopefully get him a broader swath of voters in a general election.[13] | ” |
Deportation force comments
On August 21, 2016, while appearing on CNN, Conway was asked if Trump still wanted "a deportation force removing the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants." She said that Trump's stance on immigration was "to be determined" and suggested his policy would solidify during the following weeks.[18] Two days later, Conway clarified that the campaign was assessing how to execute Trump's ideas. According to Politico, Conway said the policy would reflect "fairness to the American workers, fairness to our communities, fairness to our law enforcement. Fairness to employers also. Should they be asked to do more than sign up for e-Verify and wash their hands clean of that type of enforcement?"[19]
Criticism of Republican leadership
In October 2016, after a 2005 video of Trump emerged in which he bragged about groping women, a number of Republican leaders withdrew their support of Trump's candidacy. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Conway criticized party leadership as "wishy-washy."[20] She further commented to ABC News about Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), saying, "We want the support of anybody who’s going to publicly endorse us. But enough of the puss*footing around in terms of do you support us or do you not support us. ... The fact is some of these leaders have been wishy-washy. And Paul Ryan has a job to do."[21]
Comments on accepting the election outcome
After the final presidential debate in 2016, Trump was asked if he would accept the results of the election. He responded, "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. Ok?"[22] Conway defended Trump's comments and said that he would, in fact, accept the outcome of the election. She said, "He was talking about a corrupt system. Many Americans agree with that. He's talking about a system where people feel like insiders like Hillary Clinton get all the benefits on top of the fact many in the media collude with them. ... Absent evidence of widespread abuse and irregularities, yes. But I also think he will be president."[23]
Donald Trump presidential administration
- See also: Donald Trump White House staff
On December 22, 2016, Trump named Conway as his counselor to the president, a top staff role in the White House. According to The New York Times, Conway's role entailed being "responsible for helping carry out [Trump's] priorities and delivering his message from inside the White House."[24] Conway stepped down on August 31, 2020.
Alternative facts
In the first days of Trump's administration, Conway defended the decision to have press secretary Sean Spicer claim Trump's inauguration crowd was "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in-person and around the globe" in his first press briefing.[25] On Meet the Press, Conway told moderator Chuck Todd, "You're saying it's a falsehood. ... Our press secretary gave alternative facts to that."[26]
Bowling Green Massacre
In a February 2, 2017, appearance on Hardball on MSNBC, Conway cited a nonexistent "Bowling Green massacre" in defense of Trump's executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. She said, "I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered."[27] After the statement, CNN declined to book Conway, citing "serious questions about her credibility."[28]
Ivanka Trump brand appeal
On February 9, 2017, Conway appeared on Fox News to discuss retailer Nordstrom's decision to stop selling products in Ivanka Trump's clothing line. Giving an interview from the White House press briefing room, Conway said, "It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online." In response, Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top members of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics asking for a review of her statement. The White House said that Conway had been advised on the issue by counsel Donald McGahn.[29]
Comments on Mike Pence and 2020 election
On August 6, 2017, Conway appeared on This Week to respond to reports that Vice President Mike Pence (R) was preparing to campaign for president in 2020. Conway denied the reports, saying, "I've worked with him for ten years as his pollster, as a senior adviser, and certainly work with him daily in the White House. It is absolutely true that the vice president is getting ready for 2020, for reelection as vice president." She later said that the report was complete fiction. That is complete fabrication. And I know that his advisers who had comments attributed to them have pushed back strongly, as has the vice president. And as am I right now unequivocally. Vice President Pence is a very loyal, very dutiful, but also incredibly effective vice president, and active vice president, with this president. He is a peer to the president in the West Wing."[30]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Conway is married to George Conway III, a litigator at the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The two have four children, including twins.[31]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kellyanne Conway'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The New York Times, "Donald Trump, in Shake-Up, Hires Breitbart Executive for Top Campaign Post," August 17, 2016
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway to leave White House," August 24, 2020
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump hires ex-Cruz super PAC strategist Kellyanne Conway," July 1, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Polling Company, "Kellyanne," accessed August 21, 2016
- ↑ Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, "Kellyanne Conway," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ The Polling Company, "Woman Trend," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Hoover Institution, "Gen X Files," October 31, 1997
- ↑ Hoover Institution, "The X Files," April 30, 1998
- ↑ National Review Online, "Fictional Best-Seller," archived February 21, 2006
- ↑ National Review Online, "She Deserves Better," archived March 31, 206
- ↑ National Review Online, "Let them Eat Foie Gras," November 21, 2006
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Washington Post, "Cruz super PAC launches seven-figure, nationwide ad campaign," August 4, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Politico, "Cruz's silent super PACs a growing worry for campaign," November 2, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Ted Cruz drops out of presidential race," May 3, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Mike Pence integrates longtime advisers with Trump campaign," July 16, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "A new Trump emerges," August 19, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "In the latest shift, Trump campaign wavers on mass deportations," August 21, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Trump campaign manager rips 'distorted' immigration reports," August 23, 2016
- ↑ Fortune, "Donald Trump's Campaign Manager Got Into Quite the Sparring Match With Anderson Cooper," October 12, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, "Trump campaign manager to GOP: Stop "puss*footing around" on Trump support," October 12, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "Trump says he may not accept election result, in challenge to U.S. democracy," October 19, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Conway says she'll advise Trump to accept election results," October 19, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Trump Rewards Kellyanne Conway With a Top White House Staff Slot," December 22, 2016
- ↑ Business Insider, "Trump Press Secretary berates media, makes dubious boasts about inauguration crowd size," January 21, 2017
- ↑ NBC News, "Conway: Press Secretary Gave 'Alternative Facts,'" January 22, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "Kellyanne Conway Admits ‘Bowling Green Massacre’ Error," February 3, 2017
- ↑ The New York Times, "The Massacre That Wasn’t, and a Turning Point for ‘Fake News,’" February 5, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Kellyanne Conway under fire for promoting Ivanka's brand," February 9, 2017
- ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Kellyanne Conway: Trump 'Plans On Being A Two-Term President,'" August 6, 2017
- ↑ Cosmopolitan, "Who Is Kellyanne Conway? 20 Things to Know About Donald Trump's Presidential Counselor," June 5, 2017
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