Kellyanne’s Cons

At a 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference, Kellyanne Conway speaks to the crowd.

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore

At a 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference, Kellyanne Conway speaks to the crowd.

Some think she’s crazy. Some think she’s an evil genius. Some love her. Some hate her. She is Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager for the 2016 election. Conway receives a lot of criticism due to her techniques and inaccuracy during her in interviews. Some who support Donald Trump see her as untrustworthy because during this election season she criticized Trump in hopes of swaying voters toward Ted Cruz, her preferred Republican candidate.

Conway’s interview strategies seem a bit more than unfair as she is known to turn interviewers’ words upside down and inside out. Conway uses any opportunity she can find to change the subject from something sensitive to something in the favor as Trump, such as Hillary’s emails. Conway has become known for these sorts of pivots in her interviews.

An example of a pivot is when discussing Trump’s lack of curiosity toward Russia’s alleged interference of the election with talk show host Seth Meyers. On “Late Night with Seth Meyers” Conway attempted to change the topic by claiming that “He was curious enough to figure out America. He knew America when many other Republicans did not.” Meyers called her out by saying, “That’s a pivot right there, Kellyanne… No one does it better!”

On top of changing the subject to her advantage, Conway is known to use “alternative facts,” also known as untruths. In regards to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s false claims of Trump’s inauguration crowd being the largest Inauguration Day crowd ever, Conway claimed on “Meet the Press” that Spicer “gave alternative facts.”

Perhaps some of the greatest criticism directed at Conway has come as a result of this slip. “Kellyanne Conway is like someone trying to do the Jedi mind trick after only a week of Jedi training,” said Meyers on his show, “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” “These are not the droids you’re looking for… No, these are alternative robots.”

Many have heard about a more recent slip-up of Conway’s tongue, the infamous “Bowling Green massacre.” This is a terrorist attack completely made up by Conway. “Two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre,” said Conway. Although the two men mentioned worked with Al Qaeda, their job was to only help get supplies abroad. There was no evidence of an American attack plot.

One thing is certain about Conway, she is good at frustrating interviewers as she maneuvers conversations. In general, there is no one else better suited for the roll of cleaning up the White House’s messes. Even those full of the hottest air aren’t air-tight.