Kellyanne Conway was present in the Oval Office as President Trump met with about 60 presidents of historically black colleges and universities. Kneeling on a couch, she used her smart phone to snap some pictures. Apparently, Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat from Louisiana, found a photo of Conway kneeling on the couch taking those photos to be a good opportunity to make a crude remark to the Washington Press Club Foundation Dinner.
Here’s the quote that landed Richmond in hot water:
“I really just want to know what was going on there, because, you know, I won’t tell anybody. And you can just explain to me that circumstance, because she really looked kind of familiar in that position there. But, don’t answer, and I don’t want you to refer back to the 1990s,” Democratic Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond said at a Washington Press Club Foundation Dinner on Wednesday.
Saying she “looked kind of familiar in that position” is the off-color remark that caused the turmoil. Conway’s point was that he would never have said that had she been pro-choice. The war of words escalated from there.
Richmond later tried to play it all off as a misinterpretation of his remarks.
“Since some people have interpreted my joke to mean something that it didn’t I think it is important to clarify what I meant. Last night was a night of levity. Where I grew up saying that someone is looking or acting ‘familiar’ simply means that they are behaving too comfortably,” Richmond told TheDC in a statement.
GOP leadership is not buying it. Neither is Conway.
“A snarky joke for you is just a reminder of the demeaning comments women hear every single day. And trust me, it happens to all women,” [GOP Chairwoman Ronna Romney] McDaniel said, adding: “I’d suggest using Women’s History Month to lift us up instead of knocking us down.”
Conway said Richmond has not apologized to her for the crude comment. “I notice he did not apologize, he tried to clarify,” Conway said of Richmond’s claim that the joke wasn’t meant to be sexual.
Conway continues:
Conway also pointed to a Washington Post article where Trump aide Omarosa Manigault spoke up on behalf of Conway.
“I saw her taking pictures — it was a very sweet moment, to be honest,” Manigault said to the Post. “She looked down at the picture after she got it, and I looked at her and said, ‘Kellyanne, did you get a good shot?’ Because I wanted one for my own records.”
“I literally looked at her and said, ‘Kellyanne, can you try to get a good shot?’ . . . She tried again; she positioned herself to get a better picture. It really was at my encouragement for her to try to capture such an important, historic moment.”
Did Richmond make his remark because Conway is a conservative, pro-life woman? It is interesting how liberals such as Richmond get away with making remarks that would bring the house down on a conservative. (Recall Bill Clinton’s behavior when president.)
Another possibility is that Richmond was upset that President Trump was having a successful meeting with prominent black college presidents, a group the Democrats believe are supposed to support them.
Either way, Richmond got caught, and all his maneuvering doesn’t remove the fact that he made a sexist crack at Kellyanne, and shouldn’t be allowed to forget it.
Breaking news: Kellyanne Conway uses "alternative etiquette" by putting her feet on the couch of the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/erb0KwyoBr
— Chris Arthur (@arthurct20) February 28, 2017
I'll take shoes on a couch over this any day. pic.twitter.com/JLE16uQFsF
— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) February 28, 2017
Source: Daily Caller
Photo: Gage Skidmore
Of course