Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has brought increased scrutiny to former President Donald Trump’s campaign since being named his running mate, facing backlash for past comments attacking “childless cat ladies” and leaks suggesting Trump regrets his choice.
According to Marc Caputo writing for The Bulwark, Trump and his allies believe these leaks are coming from former Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. And they’re not happy. Nearly two dozen Trump staffers “were quick to shoot down any notion that Trump was turning his back on Vance or was displeased with him amid his rocky rollout,” the report states.
However, “more than a dozen of those sources volunteered without prompting that they believed Conway … was undermining him through leaks to the press expressing doubts about his readiness and the campaign’s vetting.” Conway, who previously played a role in steering Trump toward Mike Pence in 2016, reportedly opposed Vance as a running mate.
Conway denied being the source of the leaks, telling The Bulwark, “When it comes to concerned people questioning the vetting or selection of JD Vance, the calls are coming in, not going out. I’m not calling them and saying this is bad. People are asking me. They’re not just asking me. They’re asking lots of people.”
She added that all the people blaming her are “ankle biters” and “gossip girls,” and Trump won’t toss Vance overboard because “he’s loyal. He was loyal to me. He’s a loyal guy. He sticks with things. And he knows firsthand, anybody would have been attacked and anybody picked would’ve been attacked, because he’s always attacked.”
While a Trump family member said that “the family in general thinks very highly of Conway,” another source close to Donald Trump Jr. said of Trump’s reaction to the leaks, “He’s p—ed off about it. He knows it’s her.”
Trump hasn’t publicly addressed these allegations, but he recently took to Truth Social and, during a complaint about Fox News not doing enough to support him, offhandedly remarked that Conway “must have done some REALLY nasty things” to her ex-husband George Conway, who is a prominent conservative critic of the former president.
As the controversy continues, the allegations against Conway highlight the internal tensions and drama within Trump’s campaign, raising questions about the impact on Vance’s candidacy and the overall campaign strategy moving forward.