Between the allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and President Trump’s own sniping at female reporters Monday, the past few days have seemed like a tough stretch for the White House with women.
But Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, says that’s not an accurate picture of what’s going on. She portrayed Trump as far more attuned and sensitive to gender issues, and responsive to women’s concerns, than he receives credit for. To start with, Trump creates a welcoming environment for female employees, she said Tuesday in an interview at The Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C.
“He’s a great boss, particularly to the women of the White House,” she said. “Why else would I be there?”
It was Conway’s signature phrase, “alternative facts,” in action. She defended that locution to interviewer Steve Clemons, saying her point in using that language was not that fiction is equivalent to truth. She explained that she meant instead that sometimes there are facts that don’t fit the popular narrative. But Conway demonstrated how slippery that boundary between contradictory facts and pure spin can be with her defense of the president.