Former campaign manager praised as ‘tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda’ by president-elect

Donald Trump has named his former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, to serve as counselor to the president, making her the most influential woman in the White House.

In a statement on Thursday, the president-elect said Conway “played a crucial role in my victory. She is a tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda and has amazing insights on how to effectively communicate our message.”

Conway, a pollster and political strategist, has been serving as a key member of Trump’s transition team since his victory on 8 November. She came on board as campaign manager in August shortly after Trump had secured the Republican nomination, and after two others – Corey Lewandowski and Paul Manafort – had been fired from the position.

She quickly became one of the campaign’s most important and prominent surrogates, making frequent television appearances to defend Trump’s actions and remarks, however inflammatory they became.

When a 2005 video surfaced in which Trump can be heard bragging about grabbing women’s genitals without their consent, Conway remained steadfast in her defense of the then Republican nominee.

“That’s a very unfortunate phrase, and people really should stop using it,” Conway told CNN’s Dana Bash, admonishing people for using the words “sexual assault” to describe Trump’s remarks. “He did not say the word ‘sexual assault’.”

In so doing, Conway was credited with helping soften the campaign’s image, and improving the president-elect’s standing with women, particularly suburban white women who voted for him in droves.

Trump has touted Conway as an example of his support and promotion of women. The president-elect’s victory on 8 November “also shattered the glass ceiling for women”, Trump’s statement announcing her appointment read. Conway was the first female campaign manager for either major party to win a presidential general election.

But Conway came under fire recently, for suggesting that mothers shouldn’t take up roles in the White House. At an event on women in politics earlier this month, Conway implied that it would be almost impossible to take up a position in the White House while also being a mother to her four children, all under the age of 12.

“I do politely mention to them the question isn’t would you take the job, the male sitting across from me who’s going to take a big job in the White House. The question is would you want your wife to,” said Conway, of conversations shehad with male colleagues. “Would you want the mother of your children to? You really see their entire visage change. It’s like, oh, no, they wouldn’t want their wife to take that job.”

Since helping guide Trump to his electoral victory, Conway has been considered a frontrunner for several White House positions.

She has helped shape the Trump cabinet, notably clashing with other senior members in Trump’s camp over the possible nomination of Mitt Romney for secretary of state, whom she publicly criticized. Media reports suggested that Trump was angry about her intervention but she then tweeted a photo of herself and the president-elect working harmoniously in his office.

In Conway’s new role as counselor, she “will continue her role as a close advisor to the president and will work with senior leadership to effectively message and execute the Administration’s legislative priorities and actions”, the Trump transition team’s statement said.



The role of counselor to the president is not a position all presidents appoint. It is usually an influential adviser role with a focus on communications. The last person to hold that title was John Podesta, who served under Barack Obama before leaving to run Hillary Clinton’s campaign in February 2015.

Conway told MSNBC’s Morning Joe show on Thursday: “Essentially, my major concern is and will always be my four children, but I’m very convinced this is a family-friendly West Wing and White House … And I’m also just excited to work with the senior team that’s already in place, to support them how I can.

“It’s a weighty responsibility. But if you have the president’s ear and his trust and you’re honored and humbled enough to have this opportunity, I think it’s very difficult to say no. And the president-elect is a very persuasive man.”

She added that Trump “probably would want my number one priority to be what it has been, which is to be a more discreet adviser and somebody who helps him to effectively – supports him in his effective connecting and communicating with America.”

Conway founded her polling and research firm, the Polling Company, in 1995. She has been a key conservative strategist for several candidates, including Newt Gingrich during the 2012 presidential race. She also served as an adviser to Vice-President-elect Mike Pence during his campaign for governor of Indiana.

In the 2016 race she initially supported Texas senator Ted Cruz before switching allegiance to Trump, whose racially charged rhetoric she defended. At a recent Harvard Institute of Politics review of the election, Conway demanded: “Do you think I ran a campaign where white supremacists had a platform? Are you going to look me in the face and tell me that?” The Clinton campaign communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, replied: “It did, Kellyanne, it did.”

Conway’s Twitter page biography says simply: “We won.”



Reuters contributed to this report.