Kellyanne’s and George Conway’s marriage is a bizarre anomaly with President Trump at its center, and the media loves it.
The media loves to exploit it, too, which is exactly what happened in a remarkably unprofessional interview between CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and White House counselor Kellyanne.
Wolf Blitzer to Kellyanne Conway: “I don’t want to talk about your marriage, I know there are issues there.” pic.twitter.com/ERvWX0L9eE
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) November 14, 2019
“I don’t want to talk about your marriage,” Blitzer said to Kellyanne, adding, “I know there are issues there … It’s a political question, it’s a substantive question.”
He then began to play a clip of George’s Wednesday MSNBC interview, in which he decried Trump’s behavior as unacceptable and impeachable, while CNN focused another camera on Kellyanne to gauge her reaction.
It’s no secret George, a lawyer with a massive social media following, dislikes Trump. He’s made that very clear. And this political disagreement is, at times, relevant. It would be a big part of the story, for example, if the wife of such a prominent and strident anti-Trump critic were promoted to be Trump’s chief of staff. Journalists are and would be right to cover that, and Kellyanne has at times been too sensitive about it. But this was nothing more than a cheap attempt at a “gotcha,” and a chance for CNN to hit Kellyanne where it hurts.
Blitzer invited Kellyanne onto CNN to talk to her about impeachment. If he wanted to talk about her husband’s thoughts on impeachment, then he should have invited George on instead.
There are plenty of reasons to criticize Kellyanne, so why not debate her opinions at face value? Instead, Blitzer attempted to use her husband’s opinions in the hopes of creating a marital meltdown on live television.
The only person Kellyanne is responsible for is Kellyanne. Her husband’s political opinions will inevitably affect her role in the White House, but she should not be made to answer for him every step of the way. Blitzer wouldn’t have asked her on if her husband were a fan of the president.
Blitzer shamelessly attempted to hide behind George’s legal repertoire, but that’s not the reason Blitzer brought him up and everyone knows it. The only reason George is relevant is that he happens to strongly dislike the man his wife works for, and he doesn’t care who knows it.
Like most political families, Kellyanne and George should expect to be poked at and prodded, but this was just out of line. This was a malicious attempt to pit Kellyanne against her husband, use George’s political opinions as a weapon, and back Kellyanne into a corner.
Blitzer owes Kellyanne an apology, as does CNN.
