Kellyanne Conway stumbles when asked if there is an African American working in the West Wing

The White House adviser struggles to name a single African American who works in the White House

By Taylor Link
Published August 12, 2018 11:15AM (EDT)
Kellyanne Conway (AP/John Minchillo)
Kellyanne Conway (AP/John Minchillo)

The Trump administration is not exactly known for celebrating racial minorities. For the longest time, the most prominent black White House staffer was Omarosa Manigault.

But Omarosa left long ago, after an ugly departure that she has now chronicled in her new book.

The all-white makeup of the Trump White House has been stunningly documented. President Donald Trump recently posed for a photo with all of his interns. It's easy to see that diversity isn't much of a priority.

Jonathan Karl, host of ABC's "This Week," confronted Kellyanne Conway on Sunday about this, asking the White House adviser if there are any staffers in the West Wing who are African American.

Conway struggled to name one.

She eventually named Ja’Ron Smith, who serves as a special assistant to the president for domestic policy. But Smith does not actually have an office in the West Wing, so, in reality, Conway failed to identify one African American who is working in that part of the White House.

Conway told Karl that Americans should not judge Trump by the racial composition of his staff, but “by the actions of the president.” This week marks the one year anniversary when Trump suggested there were "good people" among the white nationalist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Taylor Link

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Black America Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway Omarosa Manigault Trump Administration