On Twitter, presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway made short work of former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley after Haley went out of her way to criticize a tweet by President Donald Trump.
Trump vs. Cummings
Yesterday’s Twitter drama was a product of the president’s recent denunciation of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and his Baltimore district.
Towards the end of July, President Trump compared the conditions at the southern border, which Cummings had criticized, with those of the congressman’s own district in Baltimore, Maryland. The border, wrote Trump, “is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded,” while Baltimore “is a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess.”
The comments drew substantial criticism and cries of “racism,” but the president has not backed down. Rather, he has stood by his words, which appear to contain more than a measure of truth.
Trump reacts to break-in
After reports came out on Thursday that Cummings’ Baltimore home had recently been broken into, Trump reacted Friday with another tweet: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cumings was robbed. Too bad!”
The break-in occurred in the early hours of Saturday, July 27, just prior to Trump’s first critical tweets about Cummings. The congressman said he “scared the intruder away by yelling.”
Haley objects, then Conway
Many interpreted the president’s tweet negatively, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. “This is so unnecessary,” she tweeted in condemnation of President Trump’s post. But this is when Conway came along to use Haley’s own objection against her.
“THIS is so unnecessary,” wrote Conway, citing Haley’s tweet. “Trump-PENCE2020,” she added. Haley did not respond.
THIS is so unnecessary
Trump-PENCE2020 https://t.co/wopDdCWRwR— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 2, 2019
Trump himself later clarified that “that was really not meant as a wise-guy tweet.”
According to the AP, “the president told reporters later in the day that it was ‘too bad’ that Cummings’ home had been broken into and that he was just repeating what he had heard on the news. He said he meant no harm with the social media post.”
Parting shot
Conway’s inclusion of “Trump-PENCE2020” was, most likely, meant to combat the once-popular notion that President Trump is looking for a new Vice President in 2020, and that Haley is a frontrunner to fill that role.
The president, as recently as June, has insisted that Pence is his guy, stating that they “have tremendous support from every angle.” “I love Nikki, and there’s places for Nikki, and Nikki’s future is great,” said Trump. “But Mike Pence is the person, 100%.”
Conway’s retort, in other words, was a not so subtle parting shot.
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