Sarcasm doesn’t translate well in all media, especially live television interviews. Kellyanne Conway found that out the hard way Monday morning when she deadpanned that James Comey did what Donald Trump couldn’t do: The former FBI director defeated Hillary Clinton.
“This guy swung an election,” the White House senior counselor told George Stephanopoulos Monday. “He thought the wrong person would win. His people in his household wanted the other person to win.”
And with those words, Beltway Twitter blew up.
It was supposedly vindication that the Trump presidency was the botched product of last-minute hijinks. When Comey reopened the investigation into Clinton’s personal emails, the Left has long complained, the former FBI chief threw the election. It wasn’t that Trump won, they argue, but that Clinton was sabotaged.
And on air Monday morning, Conway seemed to confirm that. Except no, she said afterward, she was actually being sarcastic.
This misleading headline should include an eye roll and question mark. Point I made on 3 shows is that we are supposed to believe THIS guy swung an election? I don’t think so. Kellyanne Conway slams Comey: ‘This guy swung an election’ – ABC News https://t.co/f0GdDE6Tvd
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) April 16, 2018
Setting aside the fact that no one inside the Trump campaign really thought that candidate would win, there is actually ample evidence that Conway wasn’t tacitly endorsing a liberal talking point: two other interviews actually. Before ABC, Conway went on both Fox Business and CNN.
“The Democrats are mad at Comey for lots of reasons. I saw Jim Comey last night and I said, ‘This guy swung an election?’ He struggled to answer basic questions,” Conway told Chris Cuomo on CNN.
It wasn’t that Comey was some grand puppet master. According to Conway, it was that Comey is an inept operator desperate for attention.
“This man swung at an election? I don’t think so,” Conway said on Fox Business. “What he’s done is he’s drawn the ire of many FBI members including a high-ranking member and DOJ members, right, left and center. They’re really upset that somebody, particularly in the midst of an active investigation by Mr. Mueller, would once again put the spotlight on himself.”
So, does Conway need to work on her delivery when it comes to sarcasm? Yes. But does Conway actually think that her boss would’ve lost the election without a rogue FBI director? No.
