White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway addressed the growing spat between her husband and the President of the United States on Thursday, telling Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that George Conway was behaving in a way contrary to how she she was raised.
“I was raised in a household of strong Italian Catholic women that taught me you air grievances like that in private,” Conway said. “So it is very surprising to see it be so public.”
“My husband also has been very critical of the president publicly, which is unlike him,” Conway continued. “He’s traditionally been a very private person. In 2016, which was known as the year of the tweet, George Conway sent exactly zero tweets. So this is new. And what also is new is not supporting the agenda of the president and my work there.”
An infrequent Twitter user before Trump took office, George Conway has exploded in recent years as one of the president’s chief critics on the platform. His proximity to Kellyanne Conway has amplified his voice and made for frequent fodder in the national media.
The president had historically pulled his punches with George Conway given the awkwardness of the situation — something that dramatically changed this month. After Conway suggested Trump was suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, the billionaire finally struck back.
“George Conway, often referred to as Mr. Kellyanne Conway by those who know him, is VERY jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted,” Trump said in a tweet. “I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!”
“You. Are. Nuts,” Conway shot back in reply.
George Conway did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.
Kellyanne Conway has often faced awkward questions about her husband’s criticism of Trump and how that compared to her lockstep support of her boss. In an interview with CNN last April, she suggested that inquiries into the matter were sexist.
“It’s fascinating to me that CNN would go there. But it’s very good for the whole world to have just witnessed … that it’s now fair game what people’s — how people’s spouses and significant others may differ with them. I’m really surprised, but very, in some ways, relieved and gratified to see that,” she responded to Dana Bash, adding that it was not a question Bash would have asked if she were a man.
Bash refuted her on air saying “a thousand percent, I would.”