White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway took on Women’s March attendees, and the whole of modern feminism, as she kicked off the annual Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday morning in Maryland.
Calling feminists “anti-male,” Conway hammered them over their “message of negativity,” which she says permeated the protests that took place across the country right after President Trump’s inauguration, adding that she herself had been a target of the protests because feminists couldn’t stand the thought of conservative women in power.
“It turns out that a lot of women just have a problem with women in power,” Conway said, to applause. “This presumptive negativity about women in power is very unfortunate because let’s try to access that and have a conversation about it instead of a confrontation.”
Conway appears to have been referring to criticism of her performance as a White House spokesperson—but also might be bitter about the catty outrage over her inauguration outfit, which featured a pricey, bold-hued, “revolution chic,” Gucci coat and Louis Vuitton bag.
As for whether her boss, President Trump, is fair to women, Conway told her interviewer that he’s been widely misunderstood. “It is not fully understood how compassionate and what a great boss he is to women.”
Despite her achievements, however—she’s the first woman to manage a successful Presidential campaign—Conway says she doesn’t consider herself a part of the modern “progressive” feminist movement at all. “Conservative feminism,” she said, requires her to “look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances.”
She does tell her daughters, though, that they should be ambitious—after all, there’s still a glass ceiling to be broken. “I will tell my three daughters, your daughters or you, that the job of first female president of the United States remains open, so go for it.”
Conway was the first speaker at the annual CPAC conference, the largest single gathering of grassroots conservative activists and political players. The event, held in National Harbor, Maryland, is designed to help the GOP’s rank and file strategize for the year ahead. Vice President Mike Pence will speak Thursday night at the conference’s annual gala, and President Trump will speak Friday morning.
