NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.— White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway on Thursday needled progressive women who participated in protest marches the day after President Trump's inauguration, arguing that their message was one of "negativity."

“It turns out that a lot of women just have a problem with women in power," Conway, Trump's former campaign manager, said during a speech at the conservative conference CPAC.

"It's constantly talking about what women look like and wear or making fun of their choices or presuming that they are not as powerful as the men around them. This presumptive negativity about women in power is very unfortunate because let’s try to access that and have a conversation about it instead of a confrontation.”

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Conway, the first woman to run a successful Republican presidential campaign, kicked off the Conservative Political Action Committee's annual confab to a standing ovation. She was the first representative of the campaign to speak at CPAC, which Trump skipped in 2016.

She pushed back against the frame of modern feminism as "anti-male" and "pro-abortion," labeling "conservative feminism" as looking at yourself as a "product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances."

Praising Trump's willingness to help her balance her work and the time she needs to raise her young children, Conway joked that CPAC should be called "TPAC" because of Trump's rise.

And she briefly taunted Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonHillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden MORE while arguing for women to aim high.

"I will tell my three daughters, your daughters or you, that the job of first female president of the United States remains open, so go for it," she said.