Even before she signed on with Donald Trump , Kellyanne Conway was emerging as a media star of the 2016 presidential campaign, thanks to her adept and forthright handling of prickly questions and her ability to stay calm and sprightly under the pressure of the camera's glare.

Trump took notice.

Once her preferred candidate – Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas – went kaput, Conway was swept up by the Republican nominee as an adviser and ultimately promoted to the role of campaign manager. Despite that elevated title, she spent a large amount of time in studios or on the sets of television news programs defending, explaining and fighting for her often besieged candidate in the fog of war. Even Democrats came to admire her poise and grace under fire, with some marveling at her effectiveness. The rap in Washington went that if you were a political figure in trouble, you'd want Kellyanne Conway mounting your defense.

That once sterling reputation is now being soiled.

As Trump's counselor, Conway remains a constant presence on the air, doing the jousting, clarifying and insulating that made her such a formidable force during election season.

The problem now is that Conway is getting herself caught spouting a string of “alternative facts,” undermining her position as a trusted spokesperson. Potentially worse for her are the growing examples of missteps that signal she’s out of the administration’s inner loop.

The self-proclaimed "face of Trump's movement" likely isn't smiling as much as she used to.

"I don't envy her. Every day has got to be tough," says Frank Luntz, the GOP messaging guru who previously employed Conway. "Who's perfect in this? We are experiencing an administration like no other. She's surviving, and that in itself is remarkable. The onslaught of criticism is so extensive and never-ending."

Survival seems to be the key for Conway in these early days of a wayward administration still in search of order and organization.

"I serve at the pleasure of @POTUS ," she tweeted Tuesday. "His message is my message. His goals are my goals. Uninformed chatter doesn't matter."

Conway appeared to be responding to the latest chorus of critics taking her to task for her characterization of the saga involving ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Whereas Conway said on Monday that Flynn had Trump's "full confidence," White House press secretary Sean Spicer shortly afterward appeared to indicate otherwise.

"The president is evaluating the situation," he said, offering the first hint of Flynn's fate.

Appearing on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday, Conway also said Flynn made the decision on Monday night to resign.

"By night's end, Mike Flynn had decided it was best to resign. He knew he'd become a lightning rod and he made that decision," she told anchor Matt Lauer.

But just hours later, when Spicer took the press podium to brief reporters, he said it was Trump who asked for Flynn's resignation.

The "eroding trust in this situation led the president to ask for Gen. Flynn's resignation," Spicer said.

Conway did not respond to a U.S. News inquiry asking about the different accounts.

But her detractors have certainly let their feelings be known.

"It is quite 'sad' that we can't trust the words of anyone in the WH – not Trump, nor his press secretary or Kellyanne … no one!" tweeted Simone Sanders , a Democratic strategist working for the super PAC Priorities USA Action.

Which narrative was true? Was Flynn pushed out or did he surrender? And why were two of the president's top lieutenants on such different pages on such a highly charged, closely watched issue?

Allies of Conway are trying to figure it out as well.

"My bet is that's what Donald Trump told Sean Spicer to say," says one GOP consultant who considers Conway a friend. "A distinction with little difference – he had to go."

But for a hungry media corps emboldened to point out discrepancies, even the small ones can metastasize into full-blown controversies.

It is conceivable that once Trump read a Tuesday morning newspaper report that gave the impression he had wavered on what to do about Flynn, he decided he needed to look tough and decisive on a staffing change – and gave Spicer specific marching orders to make him appear so.

It is also possible that Trump made his decision on the fly and originally advised his aides to stick with Flynn until he sent further notice, and his change of heart came after Conway was on the air Monday.

It can't both be true that Flynn of his own volition tendered his resignation and that Trump asked for it.

"That's a problem. That's a real problem and they need to address it," Luntz says. "Every administration has its challenges in opening weeks. This administration's challenges are greater than most because its policies represent a bigger change than most. Confusion never leads to effective policy or effective messaging."

"I just think they need to be organized."

Conway's eagerness to please the president at any cost through her unbridled loyalty is costing her long-term credibility. CNN, for example, recently said it declined to have her appear on the network. And MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski stated on Tuesday that she "will not interview" Conway because "it's giving people dishonesty."

"It's not worth the interview," she said.

What's more, at the same time the Flynn episode simmered, a message of support from a self-described #WhiteIdentity #Nationalist was retweeted from Conway's Twitter account, according to a screengrab captured by Buzzfeed. Conway then suggested someone else who had access to her account hit the button.

And what started as a confidence gap has morphed into an ethical problem.

Take the instance where Conway said on Fox News that Americans should go buy Ivanka Trump's products, after Nordstrom announced it was cutting ties with the first daughter's brand.

"Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would tell you," she said. "It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully – I'm going to just, I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online."

This was likely an attempt to sidle up to the president, who expressed his displeasure with Nordstrom through Twitter.

But congressional lawmakers and the Office of Government Ethics said Conway appeared to have gone too far, and potentially violated ethics standards for executive employees by endorsing Ivanka Trump's fashion line.

"I recommend that the White House investigate Ms. Conway's actions and consider taking disciplinary action against her," OGE Director Walter Shaub Jr. wrote in a letter dated Monday .

A supporter of Conway who worked with her on the campaign says that Conway sincerely believes that her only important audience is the president – and that's what drives every interview appearance, no matter how risky, unflattering or unessential.

"She's performing for an audience of one. The president. She is extremely circumscribed in her role," the former campaign aide says.

But recent history demonstrates that Trump only extends his loyalty so far. Just ask New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Corey Lewandowski and Roger Stone.

"I couldn't hold up under this pressure," says Luntz, who still credits his old colleague with doing "an incredibly difficult job really well."

But he wouldn't trade places with her.