Appearing on ABC’s This Week with host Jonathan Karl, Kellyanne Conway was at a loss for words when Karl pressed her for a response to the fact that there are no prominent black members of the White House staff — and haven’t been since the firing of former aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman. Omarosa has been famously spilling the beans about her time inside the Trump administration over the last few days in anticipation of the release of her memoir Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.
KARL:Â Omarosa was the most prominent, high-level African-American serving in the West Wing on President Trump’s staff. Who, now, is that person? Who is the most prominent, high-level adviser to the President on the West Wing staff right now?”
Kellyanne, in a bid for time to think of an answer to the question she absolutely didn’t need to clarify, clarified: “African-American?” Karl affirmed that’s what he meant.
CONWAY:Â I would say that, well, first of all, you’re totally not covering the fact that our Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and world-renowned neurosurgeon…”
Karl clarified in return that he was talking about the actual staff of the White House itself. “Well, that’s important, that he’s, that he’s…” said Conway, likely refraining from finishing the thought that ends with “black.” “The President works with Secretary Carson every day.”
Of course, that isn’t what Jon meant, and he pressed on.
CONWAY: We have Ja’ron who’s done a fabulous job, and very involved with Jared Kushner and President Trump on prison reform.”
But even Ja’ron, whose last name Kellyanne could unsurprisingly not come up with on the spot, doesn’t work in the West Wing. There is no high-level black adviser to the President who actually has an office close at hand. Trump’s spokeswoman went on to give excuses like “we have a number of minorities” and the administration standby about black unemployment, which at this point I think everyone understands was already at historic lows under Obama and has continued to go even lower as an extension of the policies enacted well before Trump took office.
But then, Donald Trump would take credit for a sunny day if he thought he could get away with it, and besides, Kellyanne didn’t know she was actually going to have to remember black people’s names, for goodness sake.
Watch the exchange here:
Featured image via screen capture
