Following the James Comey interview that aired on ABC Sunday night, the White House sent senior counselor Kellyanne Conway out to do damage control Monday morning. But during an interview on Good Morning America, she contradicted Trump’s official line by admitting that Comey swung the 2016 election in Donald Trump’s favor when he announced the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails a few days before the vote.
“This guy swung an election,” she told George Stephanopoulos. “He thought the wrong person would win. His people in his household wanted the other person to win. And now, at the end of your interview, George, he gave a free political commercial, telling people to go out and vote against the president and his interests.”
FULL INTERVIEW: "I spoke to the President before the interview…" Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway one-on-one with @GStephanopoulos: https://t.co/hJAiOh1z0C pic.twitter.com/kFt1jNCwB0
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 16, 2018
Conway was referencing comments Comey made in the interview and in his new book that his decision to make that announcement in late October may have been swayed by his assumption that Clinton was on target to win the election. “I’m sure that it was a factor. I don’t remember spelling it out, but it had to have been,” he said in the interview. “That she’s going to be elected president, and if I hide this from the American people, she’ll be illegitimate the moment she’s elected, the moment this comes out.”
Following her appearance, Conway claimed on Twitter that she was being sarcastic and incredulous:
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
Last July, the Daily Beast reported that an internal memo in the Trump campaign admitted that the Comey announcement had impacted the election. But that’s not what campaign officials were told to say, which is that he had no impact on the election and that Trump won because he was an amazing candidate. That’s what Trump himself has said as well.
FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017
…Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017
As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017
In his preemptive tweets Sunday morning, Trump — responding to excerpts of the interview — actually suggested that Comey thought that announcing the investigation was reopening would somehow help Clinton win and endear him to her administration.
Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018
If Trump, a famously avid viewer of television news, was watching Conway’s interview, he will not be pleased.