As Josh Marshall discussed earlier this week, the Trump campaign basically has no campaign manager, because the person who has that title is too busy doing things like this. Kellyanne Conway appeared on this Sunday's Face the Nation and defended the indefensible when she tried to make excuses for Hair Drumpf and his reprehensible tweet following the murder of NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin.
Conway was asked about Trump's incessant need to make everything about himself, and Conway assured everyone that he really was concerned about the family because he tweeted about it immediately after the disgusting tweet where he claimed that it proved somehow that black people will vote for him. Yeah, after he was savaged for it on line.
DICKERSON: Let me touch on couple of other issues. Mr. Trump tweeted yesterday after an NBA player’s cousin was shot. Mr. Trump tweeted: “Dwyane Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will vote Trump.”
What did he mean?
CONWAY: He tweeted his condolences to the family right after that.
And I would like everybody to know about those tweets, because I think it’s incredibly important for all of us to come together, John, in a very nonpartisan fashion and express our condolences to families like the Wade family and also our outrage that things like this can happen.
This woman was pushing her baby stroller. There are four children today, including a newborn, that don’t have their mother.
DICKERSON: Absolutely.
CONWAY: And I think it’s important that Donald Trump is taking his message to communities of color. Republicans sometimes show up at different forums, but they really don’t continue with this message trying to reach all Americans.
In the coming weeks, you will see Mr. Trump directly in these communities of color.
(CROSSTALK)
CONWAY: Yes.
DICKERSON: Let me ask -- we will get to that in just a second. I just try and unpack the first tweet, though, because I just don’t know what that means.
CONWAY: Well, I think you have to look at both tweets, where he expresses his condolences. And he says -- and he reminds everybody he’s been trying to make the case that the increase in random crime and senseless murders, the poverty, the joblessness, the homelessness in some of our major cities is unacceptable to all of us.
And the idea that certain politicians, he’s not one of them, have looked the other way and have not done everything they can do to help all Americans, including our communities of color, is unacceptable to all of us. And it certainly is unacceptable to a President Trump.
DICKERSON: Some people pointed out that in a number of instances, whether it’s the Orlando shooting, the Paris attacks, and now this one, his first instinct to talk about himself, his policies, to see tragedy as a validation of what he’s been saying.
Is that healthy for a presidential candidate to do that?
CONWAY: Well, look, I know the media lives on Twitter, but most Americans see what he does on a weekly basis, which is he gives policy position speeches.
He’s been out there just in the last two weeks, John, talking about defeating radical Islam, middle-class tax relief, law enforcement, communities of color, the rigged, corrupt system that is the Clinton enterprise.
And -- because he’s out there actually taking his case to the people. What did Hillary Clinton give speech on this week? Not energy, infrastructure, economy and jobs, Obamacare, defeating terrorism. She talked about him. He’s talking to the voters about issues, and she is talking about him.
And that is just a remarkable contrast in the way these two individuals are running their campaign. And so I think people should look at the full measure of the man. They should look at his plans to defeat radical terrorism, to help our inner cities and also all Americans, and contrast it to Hillary Clinton, who this week I think elevated insult into an art form, and, frankly, has left the Democratic Party that I grew up with, whereas the Democratic Party, where her fear and loathing is a big, big way away from hope and change.
Conway also defended Trump calling Clinton a bigot by claiming that poor old Donald is just defending himself from all of the meanies that are picking on him on line all day.
DICKERSON: What about -- Donald Trump called her a bigot. Do you -- is that the campaign’s position? Is that something he’s going to keep saying?
CONWAY: When you see what Donald Trump is called by nearly everybody in Clinton world, including many of her supporters in the media, before he gets out of bed in the morning, this man has been called everything in the book, insults routinely hurled at him. People think it’s funny. They put on their Twitter feeds, even though they’re supposed to be objective journalists.
And so he turns around and says basically that her policies have left people behind. And the policy that she would continue would not help many of the people who still feel like they don’t have the same opportunities, the same education, the same economic upward mobility that other people have been able to leverage, and that they deserve the same.
And so pardon me if I can’t get all exercised about name-calling, when Hillary Clinton gave an entire speech this week about name- calling, not about the issues. We have no idea what she would on Obamacare, which is failing everywhere. Tennessee just this week said that that exchange is failing as well. That would be number 17, by my count, of the 23, obviously, major insurers pulling out of the exchanges.
Obamacare looks like a failed experiment. There are millions of Americans who don’t have coverage that need it. We don’t know what she should do about economy of jobs. We have no idea why she called ISIS our -- quote -- “determined enemies,” rather than terrorists.
She calls -- speaker of name-calling, she referred to pro-life Republican as -- quote -- “terrorists,” but she doesn’t refer to terrorists as terrorists. And I think that’s very troubling.
I hate to break it to Conway, but Trump's campaign was down in the gutter long before Hillary Clinton dared to point it out to everyone.
