Here's the Deal: A Memoir by Kellyanne Conway

Author:Kellyanne Conway [Conway, Kellyanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Published: 2022-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Turning Points

Going into our first holiday season at the White House, I felt encouraged by the wins we had under our belt and the direction we were heading.

The president and the First Lady were deeply involved with the opioid crisis, now declared an official national public health emergency and a big piece of my portfolio. In the Middle East, Trump had fulfilled a promise that seven presidents had made by moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and now he was well on his way to passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a landmark piece of economic legislation that showed the ability of our White House and administration to collaborate with Congress and get things done.

General Kelly was bringing order to the White House and making sure the president was appropriately briefed, even though gossip-beat gawkers like Annie Karni, then at Politico, “reported” as fact a mere two months into his tenure that Kelly’s days were numbered. He’d go on to be Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff. Kelly didn’t seem the least bit rattled by any of it.

“How did that go, Kellyanne?” he asked me after one briefing with the president.

“Oh, fine,” I said. “But you may want to check the call log to see who keeps ringing him to insist the sky is green and the grass is blue.”

Adding to my good mood that December was knowing that George and I would soon be hosting a big group of relatives and friends in our new home, just a couple of miles from the White House. I loved being in a position to connect people from all over the country, including folks in my own circle of life, with the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous decorations and unique celebrations of the nation’s capital. In paying homage to two hundred years of White House tradition, First Lady Melania Trump created a winter wonderland that combined elegance and warmth in a way that was uniquely hers. Hundreds of Trump-loving volunteers helped deck the famous halls with 53 trees, 71 wreaths, and more than 12,000 ornaments. The Grand Foyer and Cross Hall evoked the snowy woods of the Nutcracker Suite, the balsam firs with their fairy lights reflecting off the gleaming marble floors. In the State Dining Room, a 350-pound gingerbread reproduction of the White House featured one of Melania’s wreaths in each window.

True to their promise that this would be the People’s House, the president and First Lady opened the doors to more than 25,000 visitors that year, hosting dozens of holiday parties and posing for hundreds of pictures nightly with staff, guests, members of Congress, the Secret Service and their families, and residence staff.

The Social Office requested my presence at the festivities daily, and I was happy to greet, converse, and take selfies with scores of visitors. My standard line to young girls who would ask me what it was like to work in the White House was “We kept the job of first female president of the

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