Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway bristled Monday at charges incoming White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon leans too far to the right, saying she was “offended” at the accusations and she wouldn’t have been part of an operation with him if she’d seen him catering to the “alt-right.”
She said the surprise of Donald Trump’s victory has spawned an overzealous reaction, but she urged them to give the president-elect a chance.
Mrs. Conway said Mr. Trump was repaying the loyalty of Mr. Bannon, who was head of Breitbart News before becoming CEO of the campaign and is now the chief strategist for Mr. Trump. Civil rights groups have blasted Mr. Bannon for his leadership at Breitbart, saying he gave voice to radical elements including white nationalists.
“I worked very closely with Steve Bannon. He’s been the general of this campaign. And frankly people should look at the full resume,” she told reporters at Trump Tower in New York. “He has got a Harvard business degree. He’s a Naval officer. He has success in entertainment. I don’t know if you’re aware of that. And he certainly was a Goldman Sachs managing partner. Brilliant tactician.”
Mrs. Conway, who has yet to have an announced role in the new administration, said the transition team is working to fill out Cabinet posts and to lay the groundwork for an agenda. She said the chance to name the next Supreme Court justice is also a priority.
“He’s put his list out. And he’s promised to take from that list and have somebody with a judicial philosophy in the mold of the late, great Antonin Scalia,” she said.
