Former White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway reportedly gave former President Trump a blunt critique of his unsuccessful 2020 run.
According to Insider, which obtained an early copy of a new book by the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Conway shared her thoughts with Trump on his 2020 campaign missteps during a phone conversation this summer.
Conway reportedly reminded Trump of the ordinary people who supported his campaigns and likened his 2020 re-election bid to his 2016 Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton.
Conway urged Trump to “get back to basics.”
“How did you win in the first place in 2016? You won because you have this connective tissue with people. The people are forgotten. You’ve elevated them,” Conway said, according to the book. “They actually benefited financially, culturally, emotionally. They had upward economic and social mobility while you were president. And they are the most hurt by your loss.”
“They’re the most hurt because they’re the coal miners and the steelworkers and the energy workers,” Conway continued, the book said. “They’re the middle-wage people. They’re the ones who have not one kid, but three and four who now are going backward in their economic mobility.”
Conway advised Trump to stop griping about the 2020 election and instead turn his focus to China. The former president reportedly told Conway that he valued her advice and felt “nostalgic” about his 2016 bid, when he was viewed as a political outsider.
“That’s why you’re going to be in charge of everything, honey, the next time,” Trump reportedly told Conway, alluding to a potential 2024 bid.
After laughing off Trump’s comments and refusing to commit to any future plans, Conway continued her critique of Trump’s fail 2020 bid.
“You were the underdog both times even though you were the president of the United States the second time,” Conway said, according to the book. “But what you didn’t have this time was the hunger and the swagger. And you weren’t under-resourced and understaffed. If anything, Arlington became Brooklyn.”
Conway’s jab drew comparisons between the Trump 2020 campaign headquarters located in Arlington, Virginia and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign based in Brooklyn.
“Trump 2020 resembled Hillary 2016. You had too much money, too much time, too much ego,” Conway reportedly added.
