White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwayGeorge and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death George Conway hits Trump on 9/11 anniversary: 'The greatest threat to the safety and security of Americans' MORE says her success in GOP politics came from "learning how to think like a man and to behave like a lady."

"My comfort level came in learning how to think like a man and to behave like a lady," she said in an interview with Time magazine. "And I harken back to Margaret Thatcher's statement, where she said 'being powerful, is like being a lady; if you have to say you are, you probably are not.' "

In an interview reflecting on her career as a pollster, Conway, who is among President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE's closest aides, compared walking into the Republican National Committee 20 years ago to "walking into the men's locker room at the Elk's Club, holding a bachelor party."

ADVERTISEMENT

"When I went into Republican polling, I noticed quickly that my gender was an immediate source of curiosity," she recalled. "In Republican politics, particularly 20 some years ago, there were few women. There were few women consultants, there were few women candidates, there were certainly few women congressmen and officeholders."

Conway, the former president and CEO of The Polling Company in Washington, joined Trump's presidential campaign in July 2016 as a senior adviser to then-campaign manager Paul Manafort. She was named campaign manager a month later, after Manafort's departure.

She emerged as one of the most well-recognized defenders of Trump in the final months of his campaign, frequently appearing on news shows to fend off criticism and controversy surrounding the real estate mogul.