White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday offered an impressively ironic defense against media allegations that she is an agent of misinformation.
Speaking at a Washington D.C. forum on President Donald Trump’s first 100 Days, Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Wolff told Conway that she’s viewed as “the darkness” for many reporters.
“I’m going to tell you, when they say ‘democracy dies in darkness,’ you’re the darkness,” Wolff said, referring to the Washington Post’s front-page motto.
“I’m not the darkness,” Conway responded, accusing the media of exhibiting “presumptive negativity” in its coverage of Trump.
“It’s what I tell small children: Just because somebody says something doesn’t make it true,” she said. “It’s a great lesson for everyone.”
At another point, Conway lamented the lack of truthfulness on television.
“You can turn on the TV — more than you can read in the paper because I assume editors are still doing their jobs in most places — and people literally say things that just aren’t true,” Conway said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
These are awkward observations coming from Conway, who began her tenure at the White House by defending the administration’s lies as “alternative facts,” and just weeks later, attracted widespread ridicule for inventing the “Bowling Green Massacre” ― a terrorist attack that didn’t actually happen.
Last month, Conway defended Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about former President Barack Obama targeting him with surveillance by arguing that microwaves can “turn into cameras.” She later clarified that she wasn’t suggesting Obama had actually turned Trump’s kitchen appliances against him.
Although Conway was a regular spokesperson for Trump on news programs over the opening weeks of his presidency, her controversial relationship with the truth has led to credibility issues. Producers for shows on CNN and MSNBC have gone so far as to decline opportunities to interview Conway on as a guest.