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June 27, 2022

Here’s the Deal by Kellyanne Conway is a memoir of her life.  Readers will take the journey from her life as a young child to a pollster, a mom, and the only woman to run a successful presidential campaign.  She shares her feelings about family, her marriage, reporters, and working with Donald Trump, first on his 2016 campaign and then as a consultant in the White House.

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In reading the book, people will see her honest and straightforward account.  They will understand why she was so vital to the Trump campaign as a smart, articulate, and talented woman.  It was a pleasure to interview her about the past, present, and future regarding the issues.

EC: Let’s start by talking about the past — 2020.  Can you explain the book quote, “I think if we lose to this guy [Biden] we are pathetic”?

KAC: In my book, I have an entire chapter titled “A Tale of Two Outcomes.”  I show the contrast between 2016 and 2020.

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In 2020, there was a whole lot more going in terms of resources, much more money, and staff members.  Yet, toward the end, they ran out of money and had to pull some ad buys in those critical swing states.  For example, can anyone even tell me what the Super Bowl ad was about sometime before the election?  Then the Tulsa rally publicized how a million people would be there, yet there were empty seats.

I think the campaign never adapted and adjusted from the Trump economy as the core governing central premise for his election versus a once-in-a-century global pandemic.  COVID dominated, which was a benefit for Biden, who stayed in his basement bunker.  There was never such a gulf between exposure of the two presidential nominees.  President Trump was on TV two hours plus a day versus less than an hour of Joe Biden per week.  Biden benefited by it because people could make him whatever they wanted to make him.

EC: Was the first presidential debate a disaster?

KAC: I told the president to let Biden speak.  There was no indication the man had the stamina or wherewithal to stand there and spar with President Trump for ninety minutes.  I wanted him to put it to the test.

EC: What about his tweets and social media presence?

KAC: There is an anecdote in the book where I walked into the Oval Office, and the president says about his social media presence, “Without this, I would not have gotten elected.”  My response was, “I want to make sure with that, you don’t get unelected.”  Overall, it was a net plus for him and the nation.  Why?  We all benefited from receiving instant communication free of charge from the president.  The CEO billionaire and the housewife both knew what was going on at the same time.  But it was also easier for his detractors and critics to take some of those communications and turn them around, alienating some independents and suburban women.