Conway dodges questions about Trump tweet on unnamed 'drunk/drugged up loser'

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump: Confident personal attorney Michael Cohen won't ‘flip’ on him President Trump went after the New York Times on reports that his lawyer Michael Cohen would turn his back on him, and expressed confidence in knowing Cohen will be loyal to him as he goes through federal investigation. Veuer's Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more.

WASHINGTON – Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, dodged questions Sunday about Trump’s tweet deriding an unnamed person as a “drunk/drugged up loser.”

“I don’t know who he’s referring to there,” Conway said on CNN’s State of the Union.

Trump’s tweet was in response to a New York Times story examining whether the president’s longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, might cooperate with federal investigators who are investigating him and possibly his work for Trump.

The president on Saturday said the story relied on “non-existent ‘sources’ and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael.” Critics have blasted the president’s comment as insensitive to those suffering from substance abuse and ill-timed given the deadly opioid epidemic ravaging the country.

Conway did not answer a question about why the president would use Twitter to attack someone — whom he would not name — as drunk or drugged up. She argued that Trump was simply trying to defend Cohen and said the president was committed to addressing the opioid crisis.

....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018

Also on Sunday, other Trump advisers said the president was not planning to oust three high-profile members of his administration who have either sparked his ire or attracted negative media attention.

Marc Short, the president’s liaison to Congress, said Trump has “full confidence” in Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has come under scrutiny for his relationships with industry lobbyists, his spending on security and first-class air travel, and other matters.

Trump has “full confidence” in Pruitt, Short told NBC’s Meet the Press.

Short also said that “as far as I know right now the president has no intention of firing” Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Trump has publicly derided Sessions for his decision to recuse himself from the federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 elections. Rosenstein oversees that investigation, being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.