Is Kellyanne Conway going rogue?
That’s the question on everyone’s minds after Donald Trump’s top adviser appeared on three different Sunday morning news shows to openly criticize Mitt Romney, who is reportedly being considered for secretary of state. On NBC’s Meet the Press, Conway said she had received an enormous amount of correspondence from Trump supporters who were not happy about Romney getting the plum job.
“People feel betrayed to think that Romney, who went out of his way to question the character and the intellect and the integrity of Donald Trump, would be given the most significant cabinet post of all,” Conway said.
Over on ABC’s This Week, Conway said Romney wasn’t your typical Republican Trump critic in the primaries.
“There was the ‘Never Trump’ movement and then there was Governor Mitt Romney,” Conway said. “He went out of his way to hurt Donald Trump.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, Conway continued her campaign against the former Massachusetts governor.
“We don’t even know if he voted for Donald Trump,” Conway said. “He and his consultants were nothing but awful to Donald Trump for a year. I’m all for party unity, but I’m not sure we have to pay for that with the secretary of state position. I think there are concerns that those of us that are loyal have, and we want a secretary of state who’s loyal to the president.”
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe program the next day, co-host Mika Brzezinski reported that two sources inside the Trump transition team said the president-elect was “furious” about Conway’s public dissension.
“Kellyanne went rogue at Donald Trump’s expense at the worst possible time,” Brzezinski said, quoting one of the sources. “Instead of driving Donald Trump’s message, she’s pushing her own agenda.”
Later, Conway herself responded to Brzezinski’s reporting through co-host Joe Scarborough.
“It is sexist,” Scarborough said, summing up Conway’s opinion on the story. “She says she can have any job she wants and is thinking about taking a role inside and outside the campaign.”
Because Conway has been fiercely loyal towards Trump, some are wondering if this is theater. Is Trump egging her on, trying to create the appearance of an internal rift for some unknown reason? If so, who is the intended audience? Supporters? Critics? Romney? Steve Bannon?
If it’s real, then what can explain Conway’s decision to take this fight to the airwaves?
Either Conway is in imminent danger of being ousted or this is a Trump-manufactured controversy with an uncertain endgame.
Something tells us there will a lot of this kind of speculation over the next four years.
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