Politics November 28, 2016
It’s no surprise that Kellyanne Conway was the secret weapon behind Donald Trump’s presidential campaign; she was instrumental in grooming and leading the President-elect to a shocking victory.
But now that the election is over and Trump is scrambling to form a cabinet, Conway is at odds with her former client.
While he may have been a big fish in a small pond at his campaign rallies, Trump is now in charge of a much larger pond, one that is extremely divided: The United States of America. As he makes his cabinet selections, Trump must balance pleasing his loyalists while making smart decisions for his future administration, a task that will almost certainly upset more than just a few.
Trump’s cabinet is shaping up to be a zero-sum game. By picking alt-right leaders like Steve Bannon with little or no political experience, the support of established Republicans dwindles. At the same time, his cabinet picks unsteady the support of his grass-roots voters who are expecting Trump to “drain the swamp.” Conway is well aware of this predicament and she is vocally standing by the voter base.
READ MORE: Kellyanne Conway Breaks Glass Ceiling as Donald Trumps Campaign Manager
According to MSNBC, Trump is “furious” that Conway went on the record to speak out against his consideration of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the position of Secretary of State. Conway maintains that “People feel betrayed to think that Governor Romney, who went out of his way to question the character and the intellect and the integrity of Donald Trump, now our president-elect, would be given the most significant cabinet post of all.”
Like Hillary Clinton and her voters recently learned, America is much more misogynistic than we could ever have dreamed, and perhaps Conway will learn a similar lesson now that she’s crossed Donald Trump. It’s entirely possible that simply by virtue of being a woman, Conway’s know-how as a political strategist will be overlooked — like Clinton’s was — as she’s pushed to the sidelines of the administration, though Trump would be wise to listen to her concerns since she did, after all, help him win the election.
As we watch the this presidency unfold, with or without Conway operating behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz, there’s a good chance that Trump won’t be able to deliver on his campaign promises — in fact, he’s already back-pedaling on several. If the interests of his voter base don’t come to fruition, Trump might find himself the enemy of an angry mob who voted for radical change.
It’s a scenario that would have both Clinton and Conway shaking their heads at the maelstrom in Washington while both thinking the same thing: “Told you so.”
