Kellyanne Conway has announced that she is to leave the White House at the end of this month, a day after her 15-year-old daughter Claudia said she was ‘officially pushing for emancipation’ from her parents in a series of tweets.
The 53-year-old counselor to the president said she was leaving for the sake of her family, to be ‘less drama, more mama’.
Yet shortly after the announcement, Claudia Conway was once again on TikTik – stating that her parents were going to get divorced but have now called it off ‘to keep her from getting emancipated’.
She accused her mother has been physically abusive her whole life.
Claudia’s father, an attorney, is one of President Trump’s most vocal and pointed critics.
He is also stepping back from his role on the Lincoln Project, an outside group of Republicans devoted to defeating Trump in November.
He will also take a hiatus from Twitter, the venue he has often used to attack the president.
In a statement, Kellyanne called her time in the Trump administration ‘heady’ and ‘humbling,’ and said she and George were making the decision based on what they think is best for their four children.
‘We disagree about plenty,’ she wrote of her and her husband, ‘but we are united on what matters most: the kids.
‘Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year in the middle school and high school that will be conducted remotely from home for a least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.’
Conway continued: ‘This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.’
I'm Leaving the White House. Gratefully & Humbly.
Here is my statement:https://t.co/MpYxVfrY2N
God Bless You All.
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 24, 2020
So I’m withdrawing from @ProjectLincoln to devote more time to family matters. And I’ll be taking a Twitter hiatus.
Needless to say, I continue to support the Lincoln Project and its mission. Passionately.
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 24, 2020
Conway is among Trump’s longest-serving advisers.
She was Trump’s third campaign manager in 2016 and the first woman to successfully manage a presidential campaign to victory.
She joined the White House at the start of Trump’s term and has been one of his most visible and vocal defenders.
Conway, a veteran Republican pollster, has frequently been mocked for her unwavering defense of Trump and his team.
Shortly after the inauguration, Sean Spicer, the then-press secretary, spoke about crowds at the inauguration, stating: ‘This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.’
Conway said he was giving ‘alternative facts’.
A month later, when discussing Trump’s travel ban in February 2017, Conway invented the ‘Bowling Green massacre’.
She said: ‘I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. It didn’t get covered,’ she said.
That same month she used a Fox News appearance to tell Americans to ‘go buy Ivanka’s stuff’, amid reports of the president’s daughter’s struggling clothes business.
Critics said it violated ethics rules.
In June 2019 the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which oversees federal personnel issues, issued a stinging report calling Conway ‘a repeat offender’ for breaking the rules regarding the Hatch Act – which forbids executive branch employees from taking part in political activities while engaged in their official duties.
In March 2018, the ethics agency found Conway broke the law twice in interviews about the Alabama Senate race.
The OSC then issued a report on her commentary on Democratic presidential candidates.
Conway has downplayed the significance of the law, saying in May 2019: ‘If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work,’ and ‘Let me know when the jail sentence starts.’
The OSC recommended she ‘be removed from federal service.’
Conway informed Trump of her decision Sunday night in the Oval Office.
She is due to speak at the Republican National Convention this week.
Claudia Conway, 15, tweeted the day before to say her mother’s job has ‘ruined her life’, writing: ‘I’m devasted [sic] that my mother is actually speaking at the RNC. like DEVASTATED beyond compare.’
Claudia, who has previously called Trump ‘a f**king idiot’ and asked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to ‘adopt her’, has become an outspoken critic of the president and her mother’s role in the administration on social media.
On Saturday night she wrote: ‘I’m officially pushing for emancipation. Buckle up because this is probably going to be public one way or another, unfortunately. Welcome to my life.’
‘My mother’s job ruined my life to begin with. Heartbreaking that she continues to go down that path after years of watching her children suffer. selfish. it’s all about money and fame, ladies and gentlemen.
‘As for my dad, politically, we agree on absolutely nothing. We just both happen to have common sense when it comes to our current president. Stop ‘stanning’ him.’
The teen added: ‘I have been using social media as an outlet to express my passions, individuality, and to shed light on some hardships. I have been vulnerable for a reason. thank you for supporting me.’
Kellyanne and George have previously tried to prevent the media from contacting her as she became more and more of a viral star.
TikTok quickly deleted a video it posted Thursday evening featuring Claudia criticizing the Trump adviser amid the social media app’s battle with the president.
Trump has threatened to ban TikTok, claiming the app is a security threat that will pass information to the Chinese government, an allegation the company has denied.
The video was posted to the app’s official Instagram page at around 6pm Thursday but was taken down less than an hour later. It featured the teenage TikTok star at the start of a montage of users taking part in the app’s #HurtMyFeelings challenge.
A teary Conway makes a peace sign to the camera as she lies on her bed with mascara rolling down her face from crying.
‘You think you can hurt my feelings? lol my mom is kellyanne conway,’ she wrote.
The video then moves on to other users who answer ‘you think you can hurt my feelings?’ with the likes of ‘I’ve been 6’2 since I was twelve’ and ‘I was 4’10 in my freshman year’.
Conway’s Instagram handle was tagged in the caption of the video posted to TikTok’s official account, but she has not commented on it and the reason why it was taken down is not yet clear.
On Thursday, Conway posted on her Instagram stories that she was organizing a protest in Washington D.C.
And on Twitter she responded to a Trump tweet asking, ‘when was american great lol’.