He’s a good critic, but a bad husband
George Conway is stomping on his wife, Kellyanne, to throw punches at Trump
Of all the great mysteries — dark matter, the Shroud of Turin, Stonehenge, Flight MH370, Jack the Ripper, aliens, DB Cooper, the Somerton Man, Bermuda Triangle, the Voynich manuscript, Bigfoot, the dancing plague of 1518, Kanye tweets — none are more bewildering than the marriage of George and Kellyanne Conway.
I’m starting to have panic attacks about this relationship.
We all know couples that don’t appear compatible or destined for long-term happiness. Maybe she’s a vegan and he’s a hunter. Or he’s obsessed with monster trucks and she’s a Renaissance literature buff. Or he’s into Milan fashion and she dresses like a hobo. Or she’s Katie Holmes and he’s Tom Cruise.
I was once out with a couple that, after a couple of drinks, got into a rip-roaring spat about Scooby-Doo. It was bonkers. She was like, “That cartoon was terrible for kids because it promoted distrust.” And he was like, “Shut up, it was awesome!”
And I was like: why am I socializing with these two lunatics?
It can be weird to be around couples that, at least on paper, seem to have little in common. But when you see the “opposites attract” maxim play out in real life, it’s also intriguing to be a spectator and think: 1. Why are they together? 2. Can this ever last? 3. Is something else going on here?
Kellyanne Conway is a counsellor to Donald Trump. Her husband, George Conway, is a lawyer and fierce critic of the U.S. president. Kellyanne routinely appears on TV, as she did on CNN Thursday night, to defend her boss with a smorgasbord of make-believe hot dishes. Then George goes out and duti- fully scorches his wife’s baking pans with such savagery it almost feels like spousal abuse.
This is now a marriage between a flat-Earth believer and a NASA astronaut.
George is pointing at the sun and Kellyanne is staring at her manicured toes.
During that CNN interview with Chris Cuomo, which amounted to nearly 40 minutes of weapons-grade crazy, Kellyanne tried and tried and tried to change the narrative during what was yet another horrible week in Trumpville.
She attempted to turn the tables, on live television, and argue Trump is not a liar, which is like insisting Kawhi Leonard is verbose or Kim Kardashian is a prude.
Conway: “You took a shot at the president tonight. You called the president tonight a slur that I am not going to repeat —”
Cuomo: “— slur? What slur did I call him? Never. Literally, never.”
Conway: “You say he’s not telling the truth.”
Cuomo: “He lies a lot. That’s a reality.”
Conway: “That’s a slur, that’s a slur.” Cuomo: “It’s not a slur.” No, it’s not a slur. But the truth about Trump’s chronic untruths must be killing remaining loyalists like Conway. If lying were an Olympic sport, Trump would have dozens of world records. Ask him for weather conditions during a hurricane and he’ll brag about the sunny skies. Ask him to describe the shoes you’re wearing and he’ll declare them evening gloves. His lying is pathological. It’s rooted in sickness. His oxygen is deceit, his H2O dishonesty.
As a mammal, he is powered exclusively by falsehoods, fabrications, inaccuracies, deceptions, smears and denigrations.
So after Kellyanne was done arguing the opposite, George jumped on Twitter and noted: “Given that Trump has repeatedly lied about the Daniels and McDougal payments — and given that he lies about virtually everything else, to the point that his own former personal lawyer described him as a “f****ing liar” — why should we take his word over that of federal prosecutors?”
As a lawyer and constitutional expert who cares deeply about democracy, George Conway is absolutely right. But as a husband, my God, he is a disgrace.
Is there not a way for him to tangle with Trump that does not involve making a fool out of his wife each week?
I’m no fan of Kellyanne Conway. She’s an enabler of treachery.
But does she not deserve a bit more respect from the man she married?
What George Conway is doing — though he’s 100 per cent right on the issues — is 100 per cent disrespectful
It’s not like the world needs any more Trump critics.
A conspiracy theorist might conclude George and Kellyanne are up to some kind of good-cop/bad-cop routine. George, the theory would go, is now actively creating a safe space for the surname to survive this credibility onslaught by showing the world not everyone in their house is hypnotized by Trump’s voodoo. Or maybe this is a passiveaggressive act of love: he is desperate for her to see the light.
But in terms of marriage, it is George Conway who is in the dark.
He should be making his arguments to his wife in private. He should be begging her to quit. He should explain why her association with Trump is sure to end in tears.
But what he’s doing now — even though he’s 100 per cent right on the issues — is 100 per cent disrespectful. He’s stomping on his wife to throw punches at Trump.
George Conway is either a man of great conscience or a terrible husband.