Source says Omarosa Manigault Newman ‘checked out’ after Trump’s response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville in August

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Omarosa Manigault Newman, one of Donald Trump’s most prominent African American supporters, is to leave the administration next month.

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The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, says Manigault Newman’s resignation is effective 20 January, one year after Trump’s inauguration.

A source familiar with Manigault Newman’s departure said that her refusal to defend the administration had long been a sticking point.

Manigault Newman “went dark after Charlottesville” and “checked out”, the source said, alluding to the moment in August when Trump denounced violence “on many sides” surrounding a rally that united white supremacists and neo-Nazis in a show of strength. The white supremacists marched carrying flaming torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us”. Trump said there were “very fine people” marching alongside the neo-Nazis.

Manigault Newman also was unwilling to talk about Trump’s civil rights record in the wake of his visit to the opening of a new museum in Mississippi on Saturday, nor was she willing to defend his support for Roy Moore in Alabama. Moore claimed America was last great during the era of slavery.

Her refusal to be a public advocate for the White House as its most prominent African American woman culminated on Tuesday night in a meeting with the chief of staff, John Kelly, and several lawyers in the White House Situation Room that the source said ended with her departure from the administration.

The US Secret Service used its Twitter account to deny that it was involved in “physically removing” Manigault Newman from the White House complex. The statements did not deny that she was escorted off the complex, but said the only role performed by Secret Service personnel was to deactivate her pass.

Trump tweeted his thanks for her service on Wednesday evening.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success.

Manigault Newman’s departure comes at the start of what’s expected to be a round of departures heading into the new year.

U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) The Secret Service was not involved in the termination process of Ms Manigault Newman or the escort off of the complex. Our only involvement in this matter was to deactivate the individual's pass which grants access to the complex.

The White House said last week that the deputy national security adviser Dina Powell will leave the administration early next year.

Manigault Newman is a former contestant on Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice. She joined the administration as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, working on outreach to various constituency groups.