Lara Trump has warned her father-in-law Donald that an election victory against the Democrats is no longer a foregone conclusion as Kellyanne Conway is set to return to the fold.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, who is also an RNC co-chair, held a meeting last weekend in which she described the race between him and Kamala Harris as a coin toss.
Lara Trump reportedly “laid down the cold, hard facts” to Donald just a day after the former president met with Conway, 57.
Conway, the first woman to lead a presidential campaign to victory, was one of Trump’s most ardent defenders on the campaign trail and in the White House before he left office in August 2020.
Trump’s 2024 campaign has suffered a triple whammy: the poor public reception to vice presidential candidate JD Vance, Harris’s “honeymoon period” upon entering the race and a similar effect on her choice of running mate, Tim Walz.
Donald Trump has been warned that the election is essentially a tie as he is considering, with the support of his wife Melania, bringing back adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Now, what seemed to be a coronation for Trump to return to the White House against Joe Biden has turned into a very tight race, with Harris beginning to take the lead in the polls.
Conway’s role was not specified, but she would work closely with campaign co-manager Susie Wiles, who currently runs the program with Chris LaCivita.
Now Trump and two of his closest allies – Lara and his wife Melania – are backing him in an attempt to get Conway to come to the rescue.
There are those in Trump’s orbit who believe Donald will listen to the women he considers powerful, including Conway.
“Does Trump listen to Kellyanne? Does he accept input from women more readily? Yes, more than from men,” said one adviser.
‘Ironically, he likes powerful women. If you’re a smart woman, he’ll listen to you. I hope (Hicks) and these people can tell him the hardest things. He may not have done anything, but at least he listens.’
A source said Wiles and LaCivita, who are running a national campaign for the first time, acknowledged that changes were needed.
“I think Chris and Susie have come to terms with the fact that there’s been a big change – we have a new candidate and a new vice president – and that we have to change as well. They’re both in a position where they don’t have a problem with that.”
Lara Trump reportedly “laid down the hard facts” to Donald Trump just a day after the former president met with Conway (pictured right)
Not everyone in Trump world is thrilled, however, including those closest to JD Vance, Trump’s pick for vice president.
Conway wanted Trump to choose Florida Senator Marco Rubio to join him on the ticket, while Vance was pushed by Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, who is married to Lara Trump.
Conway and Vance have reportedly begun holding telephone conversations in an attempt to make peace.
Other issues include Conway’s registration as a foreign agent of a Ukrainian oligarch and his position on the RNC.
Puck described Conway’s chances of joining the Trump campaign as 50-50, given her various jobs, which include co-hosting a podcast with Harris’ now-adviser.
“We’re too busy winning an election, which we’ve done for 21 months, and helping President Trump save this country,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
‘We will not respond to anonymous sources or fabricated quotes.’
Conway was among Trump’s longest-serving advisers when he left the White House in 2020, a day after his then-15-year-old daughter Claudia said she was “officially pushing for emancipation” from her parents in a series of tweets.
Trump’s daughter-in-law, who is also an RNC co-chair, held a meeting last weekend in which she described the race between him and Kamala Harris as a coin toss.
Conway was among Trump’s longest-serving advisers when he left the White House in 2020, a day after his then-15-year-old daughter Claudia said she was “officially pushing for emancipation” from her parents in a series of tweets.
She was Trump’s third campaign manager in 2016 and the first woman to successfully manage a presidential campaign to victory.
She joined the White House at the start of Trump’s term and has been one of his most visible and vocal defenders.
Conway, a veteran Republican pollster, has frequently been mocked for her unwavering defense of the president and his team.
Shortly after the inauguration, Sean Spicer, the then press secretary, spoke about the crowds at the inauguration and stated, “This was the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period.”
Conway said she was giving “alternative facts.”
In June 2019, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which oversees federal personnel matters, issued a scathing report calling Conway a “repeat offender” for violating rules relating to the Hatch Act, which prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in political activities while performing their official duties.
In March 2018, the ethics agency found that Conway had broken the law twice in interviews about the Alabama Senate campaign. The OSC later released a report on her comments about Democratic presidential candidates.
Conway has downplayed the law, saying in May 2019: “If they’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work” and “Let me know when the jail sentence starts.”
Kellyanne Conway and her husband George have filed for divorce after 22 years. The couple has hired divorce lawyers and are working to divide their assets.
Another setback in the family image came in 2020 after Claudia (pictured) criticized her mother and Trump, forcing her parents to quit their jobs to focus on the family.
The OSC recommended that she “be removed from federal service.”
Her personal life — a contentious divorce from husband and MSNBC favorite George Conway and her relationship with her outspokenly liberal daughter Claudia — have also kept Kellyanne in the headlines.
In a 2020 statement, she called her time in the Trump administration “heady” and “humiliating,” and said she and George were making the decision based on what they believe is best for their four children.
Conway and her husband George filed for divorce in 2022 after 22 years of marriage after admitting that her husband’s criticism of Donald Trump was a betrayal.
While she worked tirelessly for the president, her husband — who co-founded the Lincoln Project, which worked to prevent Trump’s re-election — criticized the president on social media.