Kellyanne Conway tussles with CNN's Wolf Blitzer over clip of her husband
Kellyanne Conway tangled with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during a live interview on Thursday as the network tried to get her reaction to a clip of her husband disparaging President Donald Trump amid impeachment proceedings.
Conway, a top White House aide who frequently defends the president on cable networks, appeared on CNN to discuss the public impeachment hearings that launched Wednesday.
The tense exchange quickly devolved as the two began interrupting and speaking over each other. That pressure escalated when Blitzer brought up Conway’s husband, George Conway, a conservative lawyer who has been a vocal opponent of Trump.
“I just have a final question, a sensitive question, and it's a political question, it's a substantive question. I don't want to talk about your marriage,” he said eliciting a laugh from Conway. “I know that there are issues there. Your husband, George Conway —”
“What did you just say?” she asked incredulously. “No, no, no. Did you just say there are issues there?”
“No, I don't want to —”
“Why would you say that?”
“I don't want to talk about your marriage. I want to talk about a substantive point that your husband, George Conway, made,” Blitzer continued, arguing the relevance of a clip of a legal scholar and vocal Trump opponent married to one of the president's most loyal supporters. George Conway was a panel guest on MSNBC for an extended period of time on Wednesday as the impeachment hearings got underway.
“And the relevance is — and come on,” she laughed. “Wait for it. Drum roll. And he's married to me?”
“Well, you know, he happens to be married to you. What’s wrong with that?”
“He happens to be married to you?” she scoffed. “That’s bizarre.”
Producers rolled the clip in which George Conway criticized the president, saying, “Trump is all about Trump” and alleging Trump abused the power of the presidency to advance his personal interests.
“That is his opinion,” she noted. “Honestly, where is the shame?”
Kellyanne Conway slung personal attacks at Blitzer, saying she once respected his journalistic integrity.
“I think you embarrassed yourself, and I'm embarrassed for you because this is CNN now?” she said. “I looked up to you when I was in college and law school. I would turn on CNN to see what Wolf Blitzer had to say about war, famine, disruption abroad. I really respected you for all those years as somebody that would give you the news, and now the news is what somebody’s husband says?”
The CNN interview was not the first time Conway has become combative with journalists who raised questions about her marriage. Last month, she engaged in a heated phone call with a reporter whose article had mentioned a tense history between the president and her husband
“So, listen, if you’re going to cover my personal life, if you’re going to cover my personal life, then we’re welcome to do the same around here,” she told the Washington Examiner reporter, appearing to threaten her. “If it has nothing to do with my job, which it doesn’t, that’s obvious, then we’re either going to expect you to cover everybody’s personal life or we’re going to start covering them over here.”
She later denied claims that she bullied or abused the reporter.
“You’ve been very generous with your time,” Blitzer said on Thursday, wrapping up the half-hour interview.
“Thank you. I'm a very generous, kind person,” she said, launching into another attack on CNN and stating that the network had hired her in 1996.
“I’m sure your viewers will freak out when they hear that,” she said, going on to call CNN journalists “gossip girls.”
“You'll stay in my prayers,” she concluded. “Thank you."
