Kellyanne Conway is a political activist who is currently serving as counselor to President Trump. She is also no stranger to controversy as we’ve seen recently. Conway has used her position in the government to support a clothing line run by Ivanka Trump. She gave a good defense for President Trump’s travel ban by mentioning the Bowling Green Massacre. Conway ushered in a new era in politics, one containing alternative facts. I don’t understand how she hasn’t been kicked out of office yet.
Let’s start with the most recent Conway controversy, her promotion of Ivanka’s brand. When Conway said — on live television, mind you — that everyone should go out and buy Ivanka’s clothing line, she violated ethical rules in the executive branch of government. According to oge.gov, the government’s website on governmental ethics, one cannot use their position to help their own, a family member’s, or friend’s private interests. Oge.gov states that these rules exist to prevent conflicts of interest. Conway created a huge conflict of interest when she supported Ivanka’s brand, and she knew this.
I understand that nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. I would’ve forgiven Conway for this if it was her first big controversy. Unfortunately for her, it is not.
In an interview with MSNBC, Conway uses the Bowling Green Massacre to defend Trump’s travel ban on Muslims. Conway states that no one knows about the attack because the media didn’t cover it. Using a terrorist attack to defend the president’s executive order would be a good choice, if the event had actually taken place. According to the Washington Post, “The Bowling Green Massacre didn’t get covered because it didn’t happen.” Why are our government officials lying? I’m sorry, using alternative facts, to gain support for the president? Shouldn’t the president already have the support of their country?
What is an alternative fact? The phrase was actually coined by Conway herself when being interviewed by CNN. According to CNN, she was defending secretary Sean Spicer’s false claims on the size of the crowd at President Trump’s inauguration. Reporter Chuck Todd, who interviewed Conway, called her out on live television for her use of the phrase. Todd called her alternative facts falsehoods. The Guardian, CNN, The Huffington Post, and the Green Bay Press Gazette are just a few of the media outlets to confirm that alternative facts are indeed lies. We as a country do not need our government officials lying to us.
Kellyanne Conway should be removed from her position in office. If you are going to use your position to publicly support a brand, you should be reprimanded at the least. That isn’t the only thing she’s done. She made up a terrorist attack to get support for President Trump’s executive order. This is post-9/11 America, you can’t just make-up a terrorist attack. Conway is also encouraging our government officials to lie to us using alternative facts. What the hell is this woman doing? Why has no one gotten rid of her yet? She isn’t practicing ethical politics and she no longer deserves her title.
Autumn Rock is a Communications major at PSC. She enjoys listening to music, making puns, and writing short stories.