President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway has announced that she is resigning from her post at the end of August.
In a statement, Kellyanne Conway, 53, said she was stepping down to focus on her children, giving them “less drama, more mama”.
Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George, an outspoken critic of the president, will also be stepping back from political activism.
She added that her decision was “completely my choice”, and that she would announce future plans “in time”.
The announcement came hours after one of Kellyanne Conway’s daughters, Claudia, 15, tweeted that her mother’s job had “ruined [her] life”.
Kellyanne Conway, who is still scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on August 26, informed President Trump on August 23.
A Republican strategist and veteran pollster, Kellyanne Conway was the first woman to manage a successful presidential campaign, spearheading President Trump’s effort in 2016.
As senior counselor at the White House, Kellyanne Conway acted as political adviser to President Trump and maintained a highly influential position in the administration.
In contrast, George Conway is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project – a Republican political action committee working to prevent the re-election of President Trump in 2020.
“The past four years have allowed me blessings beyond compare,” Kellyanne Conway said in a statement.
“[George and I] disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids,” she added.
“Our four children are teens and tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months,” she continued.
“As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.”
Claudia Conway’s tweet about her mother went viral over the weekend.
She tweeted: “my mother’s job ruined my life to begin with. heartbreaking that she continues to go down that path after years of watching her children suffer. selfish. it’s all about money and fame, ladies and gentlemen.”
Claudia Conway later tweeted that she was taking a “mental health break” from social media, saying “this is becoming way too much”.
Kellyanne Conway is one of President Trump’s most ardent supporters, but has long been a controversial figure. She has become well known for sparring with journalists in defense of the president.
George Conway has publicly disparaged the president, describing him as “incompetent”. President Trump, in response, has called him a “stone cold LOSER” and said that he had turned down George Conway for a job in the justice department.
President Trump’s senior aide Kellyanne Conway promoted Ivanka Trump’s products on live TV.
Earlier this month, Nordstrom dropped Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, citing a lack of sales.
However, Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on February 9: “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who heads the oversight committee in Congress, said the promotion was “clearly over the line, unacceptable”.
Federal ethics rules prevent White House employees giving an “endorsement of any product, service or enterprise”.
Jason Chaffetz said the White House should notify the Office of Government Ethics so it could initiate an inquiry. There have been numerous concerns over possible conflicts of interest for White House staff.
Image source Nordstrom
He said he and his Democratic counterpart would write to President Donald Trump.
Nordstrom became the fifth retailer to drop the Ivanka Trump clothing line, citing lack of sales.
The move comes amid a boycott of all Trump products, which activists have dubbed #GrabYourWallet, in reference to a 2005 comment Donald Trump made about women’s bodies.
Nordstrom said the decision was based on the brand’s performance, which is what the company repeated on February 8: “Sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn’t make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now.”
The company added that Ivanka Trump was personally informed of the decision in early January.
Nordstrom shares briefly fell 0.7%, before rising later in the day.
Ivanka Trump does not have a fixed role in the White House, but has been a regular fixture since her father’s inauguration.
Her husband, Jared Kushner, is a key Trump adviser.
Ivanka Trump gave up operating control – but not ownership – of her businesses after her father’s election.
Donald Trump’s team has become embroiled in a fresh war of words with the media.
On January 21, President Trump had condemned media reporting of the number of people attending his inauguration.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said there was “an obsession… to de-legitimize this president. We’re not going to sit around and take it.”
However, photos show more people attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009.
Reince Priebus said on Fox News Sunday that the “media from day one has been talking about de-legitimizing the election”. He said Donald Trump’s presidency would fight such coverage “tooth and nail every day”.
The latest row was mainly sparked by the inauguration figures.
There were no official estimates. President Trump said during a visit to the CIA on January 21 that it “looked like a million and a half people”, but provided no evidence. He called reporters “among the most dishonest human beings on Earth” for saying it was far lower.
Image source CNBC
Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer outlined figures amounting to 720,000 people in Washington’s National Mall, despite also saying that “no-one had numbers” for the inauguration.
Sean Spicer also said it was the “largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period – both in person and around the globe”.
Many outlets, using photos of the National Mall showing the difference in numbers attending the 2009 inauguration and Donald Trump’s, hit out at Sean Spicer’s statements.
The New York Times denounced “false claims” and described the statements as a “striking display of invective and grievance at the dawn of a presidency”.
Both CNN and ABC News went into detail to refute Sean Spicer’s claims.
Donald Trump’s aide Kellyanne Conway also criticized the media in a feisty exchange on NBC.
Kellyanne Conway was challenged by Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press to say why Sean Spicer’s first appearance had been to “utter a probable falsehood”.
“If we are going to keep referring to our press secretary in those type of terms, I think we are going to have to rethink our relationship here,” she said.
Pressed on Sean Spicer’s claims, Kellyanne Conway said he had been presenting “alternative facts”.
“Alternative facts are not facts they are falsehoods,” Chuck Todd replied.
Kellyanne Conway insisted there was “no way to really quantify crowds” and, taking offence at a laugh from the reporter, said: “You can laugh at me all you want. It’s symbolic of the way we are treated by the press the way you just laughed at me.”
She also highlighted another issue that caused friction with the media – the Time Magazine reporter who incorrectly reported that a bust of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. The reporter later apologized for the error.
On January 22, Donald Trump tweeted about TV ratings of the inauguration, saying that 31 million people had watched, 11 million more than four years ago.
The president also referred to January 21 protests that saw millions in the US and hundreds of thousands around the globe take to the streets in some 600 demonstrations against his presidency.
Donald Trump’s initial tweet said he was “under the impression that we just had an election”, asking: “Why didn’t these people vote?”
A later tweet said that “peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy”.
Donald Trump may drop his proposal to deport 11 million people who are living illegally in the United States.
Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said the mass deportation plan, which was a central plank of Donald Trump’s campaign, was yet “to be determined”.
Kellyanne Conway’s comments at the weekend came after the Republican presidential nominee met with a new panel of Hispanic advisers.
Donald Trump told Fox News on August 22 he was not “flip-flopping” but wanted a fair plan.
He is scheduled to deliver a speech on immigration in Colorado on August 25.
Photo AP
Donald Trump has taken a hard-line stance on immigration since the beginning of his campaign, vowing to create a “deportation force” as well as make Mexico pay for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border.
While struggling to keep up with Hillary Clinton in the polls, Donald Trump has addressed black and Hispanic voters in recent days with the aim of broadening his support beyond white working-class voters.
“What he supports is to make sure we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for jobs, and that we are fair and humane to those who live among us,” Kellyanne Conway told CNN on August 21.
When asked to clarify if Donald Trump would maintain his position on creating a deportation force, Kellyanne Conway responded: “To be determined.”
Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, insisted that the plan remains unchanged.
“I don’t think the message is changing at all. I think people are just getting to know Donald Trump better,” he said.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign later released a statement saying there would be little revision to his immigration plan despite Kellyanne Conway’s suggestions.
“Donald Trump’s immigration plan remains the same as it’s always been – tear apart families and deport 16 million people from the United States,” said Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta.
If the deportation plan is dropped or refashioned, it would not be the first shift in Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Donald Trump’s controversial plan to issue a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the country changed to a ban on countries with a history of terrorism against the US. That switch followed questions raised by constitutional experts.
Last week, the Trump campaign faced a dramatic overhaul with the exit of campaign chairman Paul Manafort as well as the hiring of Breitbart News boss Stephen Bannon as CEO and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager.
Donald Trump has overhauled his election campaign team for the second time in two months, bringing in a new manager and CEO.
Kellyanne Conway becomes campaign manager and Stephen Bannon of Breitbart News the CEO. Paul Manafort remains as campaign chairman.
Donald Trump told AP the new leaders were “terrific people… they’re champs”.
The Republican presidential candidate has seen his poll ratings slip since the GOP conventions last month.
Donald Trump trails rival Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton both nationally and in key battleground states.
The latest shake-up comes just 82 days before the election.
Speaking to Associated Press news agency about Stephen Bannon, executive chairman of the politically conservative news and opinion website Breitbart, and pollster Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump said: “I’ve known both of them for a long time. They’re terrific people, they’re winners, they’re champs, and we need to win it.”
AP said the details of the new hierarchy were hammered out at a lengthy senior staff meeting at Trump Tower on August 16 and that more senior appointments were expected in the coming days.
Photo AP
An article in Bloomberg in October 2015, described Stephen Bannon as “the most dangerous political operative in America”.
Stephen Bannon says his role at Breitbart is “virulently anti-establishment”.
Kellyanne Conway has previously worked for Republican politicians Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich.
Although Paul Manafort stays in his job, analysts say the new appointments, which come two months after campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was sacked, represent a demotion.
The Washington Post cited Donald Trump campaign aides as saying the Republican candidate respected Paul Manafort but felt “boxed in” by people “who barely knew him”.
Paul Manafort, a former adviser to George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole, only joined the Trump campaign in March.
Donald Trump has been pressed by some Republicans to tone down his fiery rhetoric in the wake of a number of controversial comments in the past two weeks and the subsequent drop in poll ratings.
However, Donald Trump appears to want to stand by the campaign style that won him the Republican nomination.
He said on August 16: “You know, I am who I am. It’s me. I don’t want to change.
“Everyone talks about, <<Oh, well you’re going to pivot, you’re going to>>. I don’t want to pivot. I mean, you have to be you. If you start pivoting, you’re not being honest with people.”
Paul Manafort has had a troubled week, following a report in the New York Times that ledgers in Ukraine showed he was earmarked for $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from the former pro-Russian government between 2007 and 2012. He denied receiving any “off-the-books cash payment”.
The Trump team’s alleged pro-Russia links have been a key issue of the campaign, and the latest allegations sparked a call from the Clinton campaign for a full disclosure.
Opinion polls since the national conventions have made grim reading for the Trump team, both nationally and in key states.
The national lead for Hillary Clinton is currently between seven and eight points, the polls suggest.
The New York Times said on August 15 that no modern candidate trailing by this much three weeks after the conventions had won the election.
An opinion poll in the state of Virginia, carried in the Washington Post on August 16, gave Hillary Clinton a 14 point lead there.
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