Kellyanne Conway Just Said “I’m a Victim of Sexual Assault”

But “you have to be responsible for your own conduct.” 

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning to discuss this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. During the discussion with host Jake Tapper, Conway emphasized that the hearings were not a criminal trial or “a meeting of the #MeToo movement.”

She also revealed that she herself has been a victim of sexual assault.

“I feel very empathetic, frankly, for victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment and rape. I’m a victim of sexual assault,” she said. But then added, “I don’t expect Judge Kavanaugh, or Jake Tapper, or Jeff Flake, or anybody to be held responsible for that. You have to be responsible for your own conduct.” 

Conway noted that media comparisons to Bill Cosby, who last week was sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison for sexual assault, are unfair. Tapper responded by saying he was sorry she had to go through an assault. He also tried to ask her about working for a president who has been accused of sexual assault himself. Conway told Tapper not to conflate the two, adding, “I work for Trump because he’s so good to the women who work for him, and he’s so good to the women of this country.”

She also called this week’s hearings a “sham” and “raw partisan politics,” and said she doesn’t expect any of the Democrats on the committee that questioned Ford and Kavanaugh to change their vote following the FBI investigation of Ford’s allegations. That limited investigation is taking place because Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) revealed Friday he would not vote for Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the high court until after such a probe is completed.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate