Former President Donald Trump has been out of office for nearly eight months, but some of the most infamous faces of his administration have continued to serve in appointed positions on military academy advisory boards.
Among these is Kellyanne Conway, who served as presidential counsellor until August of 2020, after her family's public opposition to Trump was making news on a regular basis.
Ahead of Trump's election in 2016, Conway embraced the unenviable task of defending Trump's constant gaffes amid a chaotic presidential campaign, often lying to do so. After all, it was Conway who coined a term that would end up defining the Trump administration: "Alternative facts."
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden gave Conway and 10 other Trump appointees an ultimatum to submit their resignations by that night or be dismissed.
Conway, who serves on the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, soon posted her response, calling for Biden's resignation instead.
President Biden, I'm not resigning, but you should.pic.twitter.com/HuRYM4bLYP— Kellyanne Conway (@Kellyanne Conway) 1631133011
Ironically skewering Biden for the supposed "break from presidential norms," Conway wrote in part:
"Your decision is disappointing but understandable given the need to distract from a news cycle that has you mired in multiple self-inflicted crises and plummeting poll numbers, including a rise in new COVID cases, a dismal jobs report, inflation, record amount of drugs coming across the southern border, and, of course, the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan that has left hundreds of Americans and Thousands of Afghan allies stranded under Taliban rule."
She concluded:
"I'm not resigning, but you should."
The letter was...not well-received.
The long-ignored recommendation of the Trump appointee who said Ms. Conway should be fired for her repeated lawbreaking has at last come to fruition. That recommendation may not have been the focus of Mr. Biden\u2019s decision, but it speaks to her unfitness for public service.https://twitter.com/kellyannepolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Walter Shaub (@Walter Shaub) 1631144098
A few things:\n\n1. These seats typically go to Academy grads or Members of Congress. You didn\u2019t even so much as serve in the military, let alone graduate from one of the Service Academies.\n\n2. Your boss called American war dead \u201closers\u201d and \u201csuckers\u201d.\n\nSit down and hush.https://twitter.com/kellyannepolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1631137769
For someone who treated the Hatch Act like kleenex, decorum is irrelevant, but this letter shows why you should go. Until Trumpers, appointees have always said, "I serve at the pleasure of the president." You have no class. And to demand the president resign? The arrogance....https://twitter.com/KellyannePolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Kurt Eichenwald (@Kurt Eichenwald) 1631136358
You worked for a man who got impeached TWICE.\nGet over yourself.https://twitter.com/KellyannePolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Brian J. Karem (@Brian J. Karem) 1631135103
People found it hilarious that she took issue with a supposed "break from presidential norms."
Imagine being Kellyanne Conway and complaining something was a \u201cbreak from presidential norms\u201dhttps://twitter.com/kellyannepolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Kevin M. Kruse (@Kevin M. Kruse) 1631134013
"A break from presidential norms" is pretty rich herehttps://twitter.com/KellyannePolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1631137561
\u201cA break of presidential norms\u2026\u201d said a person who facilitated the firing of the FBI Director for refusing to pledge loyalty to a Russian asset?!?https://twitter.com/kellyannepolls/status/1435702026458083328\u00a0\u2026— Road Signs (@Road Signs) 1631138087
Among others asked to resign were Sean Spicer (Trump's first press secretary) and Douglas Macgregor, a former Defense Department official who believes Democrats are executing a "deliberate policy" to "bring in as many non-Europeans as possible" and achieve "demographic change."
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