Omarosa: Yet Another Ridiculous Member of The Circus

[GreyhoundFan]

"White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman roils police violence session at black journalist convention"

Spoiler

NEW ORLEANS — Less than 10 minutes into White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman’s appearance on the stage at the National Association of Black Journalists convention here, things got tense.

Manigault-Newman was on her feet, microphone in hand, pacing the stage in a heated argument with moderator Ed Gordon, host of BET’s “Weekly.”

“If you want to talk about Donald Trump, have a problem with Donald Trump,” Manigault-Newman said. “I’m not going to stand here and defend every single word and decision.”

“No, I’m asking you about Donald Trump,” Gordon replied. “I’m not going to let you railroad this.”

The session only went downhill from there.

Manigault-Newman’s presence on stage, along with journalists and activists focused on police brutality and family members of black men killed by police, roiled the annual convention of black current and former journalists and public relations professionals.

In protest, multiple panelists declined to participate in the panel. But the event went on when Gordon agreed to fill in as moderator, he told the audience Friday.

Manigault-Newman was preceded on stage for “Black and Blue: Raising Our Sons, Protecting our Communities,” by two women whose relatives were killed in encounters with police.

But a line of conference attendees snaked through the hallways of the Hilton Riverside Convention Center, all anticipating what they would soon see when Manigault-Newman appeared: drama.

Manigault-Newman, the former “Apprentice” reality TV star and now director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, didn’t disappoint.

She began by telling the story of the loss of her father and brother to violence in Youngstown, Ohio, a story that she said has allowed her to understand the pain of families who have lost children or loved ones to gun violence.

At the White House, she told the audience, she brings people to the table to have influence on policy discussions.

“I fight on the front lines every day,” Manigault-Newman said, prompting gasps of disbelief from people in the audience. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

“Are you suggesting that I just walk away?”

But the moment Gordon attempted to turn the topic to Trump, Manigault-Newman objected.

“You immediately go to Donald Trump!” Manigault-Newman protested, suggesting later that Gordon was attempting to “walk all over” her “aggressively.”

Moments later, Trump’s voice billowed over the loudspeaker for several seconds before his face flashed on two large screens in the room.

“I said, please don’t be too nice,” Trump said in a video of his speech to police officers on Long Island July 28. “Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody — don’t hit their head.”

“I said, you can take the hand away, okay?”

Manigault-Newman was asked whether Trump’s comments were appropriate for a commander in chief, and she replied simply, “No. Next question.”

Gordon later suggested that there was a debate among the panel organizers about whether Manigault-Newman would be asked about the Trump administration during the event.

“It would be foolhardy that we could assume that anyone would come here and sit here and not ask certain questions,” Gordon said.

Nevertheless, question turned to the Trump administrations policies, including efforts by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to revive the war on drugs and “broken windows” policing.

Manigault-Newman could not say what, if anything, she had done to address these issues within the administration, but continuously defended her role as a convener.

She said that part of the problem is an unwillingness of activists to come to the table. Civil rights leaders have “refused to meet with the White House,” she added.

And she argued that the issue of police brutality is front and center for the Trump administration, despite the president’s recent comments, which were widely interpreted as endorsing the use of excessive force by officers.

“It’s on the front burner because I’m pushing the issue and raising the issue,” Manigault-Newman said.

It wasn’t long before the audience was in open disbelief — and discomfort — as dozens of cellphone cameras captured the exchanges.

A group of people stood with their backs turned to the stage as Manigault-Newman continued to spar with the moderators and panelists.

At one point, she accused the moderator of making light of her family’s tragedy, which he denied.

“I have it on tape, boo,” Manigault-Newman replied.

“Ok boo, play it,” Gordon replied tersely.

NABJ President Sarah Glover at one point faced the audience herself to explain Manigault-Newman’s appearance at the conference.

Before giving the microphone to Glover, Gordon called the panel a “quagmire” that had “reached the point of diminished returns.”

“We invited Donald Trump, President Trump, various members of the Cabinet, including Omarosa,” Glover said. “Her personal experience is her personal experience.”

The panel is “about how we can further the conversation about the issues happening and surrounding black men,” Glover said.

Why is she still around? Is it only so Agent Orange can say he knows black people? Because that's what is seems like.

[Cartmann99]

There's going to be a lot of video clips of her from that convention. 

Every time she comes up in the news, this quote pops in my head, and I involuntarily shudder:

Quote

In a clip previewing an upcoming special from PBS Frontline, published online Thursday, Omarosa Manigault spoke about the abject humiliation Trump felt after Obama did an extended bit about the real estate mogul at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner.

“Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to president Trump,” Manigault said. “It’s everyone who’s ever doubted Donald, who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/omarosa-manigault-trump-critics-will-bow-down

Trump attracts all manner of damaged people who relish the thought of abusing their power to go after "enemies". It's very easy to go from a trusted insider to an enemy in this administration, but people like Omarosa don't think it will ever happen to them.

[GrumpyGran]

Thanks for starting this thread @greyhoundfan. My title was going to be "Omarosa: Whaaaaaaaa?" I'm a big Amber Ruffin fan.  

I guess she thinks she is a journalist now because she has communication in the job title. Upset that no one wanted to hear her go on and on about her life. Another Apprentice empty  vessel.

"If you're not at the table, you're on the menu"? So if you weren't working for the Donald...

[GreyhoundFan]

I was talking to a friend last night and mentioned Omarosa. She reminded me that Omarosa made a guest apperance on the dreadful VH-1 "reality" show, "You're Cut Off". The princesses on the show were assigned to clean Omarosa's house. She managed to get into a fight with one of the princesses. It's as bad and dumb as it sounds. I had not heard of Omarosa before and, quite frankly, would have been happy to never hear of her again.

[candygirl200413]

It blows my mind because she feels that she deserves black support for being in the white house and many of us in the community have been like absolutely not why do you think you're deserving of this!?

 

[Childless]

Other than being a reality TV whore, has she really accomplished much?

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, Childless said:

Other than being a reality TV whore, has she really accomplished much?

She's an ordained minister. Isn't that ironic, given her persona? Other than that, reality TV seems to be all she's done.

[NCLunaLovegoodFan]

She was known to be a bad team player on Season 1 of 'The Apprentice,' and made appearances on 'Celebrity Apprentice.' I still can't get over her feud with Piers Morgan (also a repugnant human being). What's interesting, both Omarosa and Drumpf left the Democratic party. Other than that, nada. 

[GrumpyGran]

2 minutes ago, NCLunaLovegoodFan said:

She was known to be a bad team player on Season 1 of 'The Apprentice,' and made appearances on 'Celebrity Apprentice.' I still can't get over her feud with Piers Morgan (also a repugnant human being). What's interesting, both Omarosa and Drumpf left the Democratic party. Other than that, nada. 

Yeah, apparently her most prominent skill is making enemies. I think her major goal is fame. Oh, and her ministry. 

[GreyhoundFan]

I remember she was engaged to Michael Clarke Duncan, who always seemed so nice. Talk about night and day public images.

[GrumpyGran]

34 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I remember she was engaged to Michael Clarke Duncan, who always seemed so nice. Talk about night and day public images.

And LaToya Jackson insinuated that she caused the heart attack that killed him. 

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

She's an ordained minister

Seeing as we're all on FJ here, I think we all know how much credit we should give that factoid. 

[GreyhoundFan]

55 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Seeing as we're all on FJ here, I think we all know how much credit we should give that factoid. 

LOL, I know, that's why I posted it. I thought it was rather incongruous for someone who loves to play the villain to be a minister. Of course, you can become a minister just by visiting some websites. I would love to see her try to "minister" to some of the families and individuals discussed on FJ. I think there would be bloodshed.

[GrumpyGran]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Seeing as we're all on FJ here, I think we all know how much credit we should give that factoid. 

Haha, somehow I scrambled that in my head when I first saw it to say "Seeing as we're all ordained ministers on FJ here... and thought "YES!" Why not? We preach the gospel of truth, do we not? Which is more than, I'd say, 75% of other ordained ministers.

[Cartmann99]

5 hours ago, GrumpyGran said:

Haha, somehow I scrambled that in my head when I first saw it to say "Seeing as we're all ordained ministers on FJ here... and thought "YES!" Why not? We preach the gospel of truth, do we not? Which is more than, I'd say, 75% of other ordained ministers.

Preach, Rev. GrumpyGran, preach! 

[onekidanddone]

10 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

She's an ordained minister. Isn't that ironic, given her persona? Other than that, reality TV seems to be all she's done.

Mail order minister or did she really study in divinity school? Sounds to me as if she is a Trump wanna be.

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, onekidanddone said:

Mail order minister or did she really study in divinity school? Sounds to me as if she is a Trump wanna be.

From Wikipedia (yes, I know it's not a scholarly journal, but hey, for a reality "persona", it'll do):

Quote

In August 2009, Omarosa enrolled at the United Theological Seminary in Ohio to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree.[49] She received a preacher's license in February 2011 from her church (Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California) and was formally ordained on February 27, 2012.[50] In February 2012 she was working on finishing her degree at Payne Theological Seminary.[50]

It doesn't show anything about completing her degree.

[GrumpyGran]

11 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

She received a preacher's license in February 2011 from her church (Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California) and was formally ordained on February 27, 2012.

Oh! Just like Jinger's hubby!

[Cartmann99]

This could be interesting....

 

[GrumpyGran]

7 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

This could be interesting....

 

It would make sense that she's one of the ones he wants out. She seems to be a serious rabble-rouser. And she'll jump on any train headed to fame. I can't believe that on the night she should have been celebrating his win, she was threatening people. We'll see who wins this round of BIg Brother: The White House Edition.

Sorry, I can't edit this properly, it's jumping all over the place, I can't even read it!

[apple1]

(Disclaimer: No idea if there is ANY reliability to this at all).

Axios has a blurb out that Kelly might be headed out. (Expectedly) Trump doesn't like being controlled, and Kelly doesn't like being treated so disrespectfully.

Might not be true, I don't know.

[sawasdee]

@apple1They may be referring to this article - apparently Kelly really doesn't like her!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/john-kelly-pushing-out-omarosa-for-triggering-trump

Spoiler

Newly minted White House chief of staff John Kelly has sought to put a dent in the influence of one of President Donald Trump’s most famous advisers: Omarosa Manigault.

The former Apprentice co-star—who currently serves as the communications director for the Office of Public Liaison—has seen her direct access to the president limited since Kelly took the top White House job in late July, sources tell The Daily Beast. In particular, Kelly has taken steps to prevent her and other senior staffers from getting unvetted news articles on the president’s Resolute desk—a key method for influencing the president’s thinking, and one that Manigualt used to rile up Trump about internal White House drama.

Multiple sources in and outside the Trump White House told The Daily Beast that, until recently, it was common practice for aides to slide into the Oval Office and distract and infuriate the president with pieces of negative news coverage. Manigault, they say, was one of the worst offenders.

“When Gen. Kelly is talking about clamping down on access to the Oval, she’s patient zero,” a source close to the Trump administration said.

The stories Manigault would present to Trump, often on a phone or printed out, would often enrage the president, and resulted in him spending at least the rest of the day fuming about it. For example, one White House source noted that Manigault was one of the people who would bring to President Trump’s attention online articles concerning MSNBC hosts, and former Trump pals, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski “slagging him, and his administration.”

This contributed, at least in small part, to the president’s mounting rage against the MSNBC couple, which exploded in late June when Trump attacked them and tweeted that, among other things, Brzezinski “was bleeding badly from a face-lift.”

Manigault earned a reputation within the White House for this kind of stuff, and, to many of her colleagues, it quickly overshadowed her comms duties and pro-Trump outreach to African-American audiences.

Kelly “is not thrilled by any means by [Manigault],” a West Wing official told The Daily Beast. “He is, however, thrilled that he has been able to stop staffers including Omarosa from bolting into the Oval Office and triggering the president with White House [palace] intrigue stories.”

One of Kelly’s first organizational changes upon taking the chief of staff job was to strictly limit and vet the information that aides put before the president during official work hours, according to a pair of internal memos first reported by Politico. Kelly also imposed new restrictions on what used to be very lax Oval Office walk-in privileges for senior staff. The free flow of information and casual pop-ins during the day had become a means for officials to enlist the president in their preferred policy initiatives, damage the standing of White House rivals in the president’s eyes, or nudge Trump toward a particular attitude or mood.

Of particular concern for Kelly were stories from conspiratorial right-wing websites that occasionally whipped Trump into a frenzy over issues such as the West Wing’s press leak problem. In Manigault’s case, sources said, the stories generally originated at more obscure, gossipy websites, and concerned White House palace intrigue, media personalities, or prominent Republicans in Congress.

Ever since Kelly instituted the new regime, Trump’s former reality-TV co-star’s capacity to influence her boss during the work day has taken a hit.

“She’s not happy about it,” another White House source said. “She has a bond that goes back years with [Trump] and resents being cut off like everyone has.”

To be sure, the president still uses his private cellphone to speak with and solicit advice from a small inner circle of longtime aides and friends, Manigault among them. Though Kelly has sought to limit and streamline the pipeline of information into the Oval Office, there’s not much he can do about the president’s penchant for calling up his closest advisers, even at odd hours, once his staffers depart for the evening.

As Kelly has clamped down on the information that reaches the president through official channels, Trump’s inner circle has increasingly reverted to phone calls with the president directly. The sense is that Kelly is essentially powerless to block Trump off from a coterie of friends and allies that predate the White House by years.

Manigault’s loyalty to Trump is not driven by ideology or politics nearly as much as it is by their longstanding personal relationship. Her executive-branch experience dates back to the 1990s, when she had a brief stint in the Clinton administration. That job didn’t last long, as she was reportedly a nightmare to work with, to the point that at least one female colleague wanted to inflict physical violence on her. And before becoming a top Trump campaign surrogate and joining his Republican administration, Manigault was a big fan of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Manigault’s passionate defense of Trump has sometimes escalated into her threatening people with supposed enemies lists, including one incident where she reportedly told a reporter that she was among several journalists on whom White House officials kept “dossiers” of dirt.

“It’s so great our enemies are making themselves clear so that when we get into the White House, we know where we stand,” she had previously told IJR at Trump’s election-night celebration. “Let me just tell you, Mr. Trump has a long memory and we’re keeping a list.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and Manigault declined to comment on this story. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not cleared to talk about Omarosa.

Kelly is not the first to attempt to limit access by some of Trump’s longtime confidants, including Manigault. His predecessor, former chief of staff Reince Priebus, tried to restructure West Wing meetings in May to cut down on the number of aides with direct access to Trump in those settings.

The New York Times reported at the time that Priebus had sought to exclude Manigault in particular from as many meetings as possible.

But Priebus mostly failed to meaningfully limit the steady flow of information to the president. The optimism aides expressed at the time about his effort to restructure internal White House operations could be warning for Kelly, who is attempting to succeed where Priebus failed.

“The trains are now running on time,” Trump’s friend and confidant Tom Barrack boasted to the Times of White House restructuring efforts in May. Two months later, Priebus was out of a job after routine public humiliation inflicted and sanctioned by Trump himself.

Manigault was never much of a Reince loyalist, either, even before he attempted to sideline her.

Two sources told The Daily Beast that during the earliest days of the Trump White House’s brief Anthony Scaramucci era—a relentlessly chaotic 10 days that kicked off with an attempted Scaramucci-led purge—Manigault was among the several Trump allies who sent in a list—yet another one of her stated lists—of people she thought Trump should fire. Her list skewed heavily toward establishment Republicans.

Priebus was among the “RNC guys” on that list, according to one source with direct knowledge.

I truly hope she is on the way out - talk about underqualified.....

[onekidanddone]

2 hours ago, apple1 said:

Axios has a blurb out that Kelly might be headed out. (Expectedly) Trump doesn't like being controlled, and Kelly doesn't like being treated so disrespectfully.

At first I read this as Kellyanne on the way out and I got all happy, then I realized you meant John Kelly and i got all discouraged again.

[GreyhoundFan]

From Politico: "Omarosa's West Wing bridal adventure highlights broader dysfunction"

Spoiler

One Saturday in early April, Omarosa Manigault caused a stir in the White House.

The "Apprentice" villain turned senior White House official brought members of her 39-person bridal party to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for an extended wedding photo shoot, catching fellow senior aides and some security officials by surprise in her bridal attire. The visitors loudly wandered around, looking to snap photos in the Rose Garden and throughout the West Wing, according to four current and former White House officials.

While it’s unclear whether she received formal permission for the photo shoot, at least some lawyers and other senior aides were not briefed in advance, the officials said. They quickly banned Manigault, director of communications for the Office of the Public Liaison, from posting the pictures online, citing security and ethical concerns.

The incident — which created buzz in the West Wing for weeks — did little to help the reputation of the Office of Public Liaison, seen by some White House officials as one of the most unruly and under-utilized operations in the West Wing, according to eight current and former White House officials and advisers.

The office has floundered for months, these people say, and has drawn particular scrutiny from Chief of Staff John Kelly, who has asked for changes.

The Office of the Public Liaison is barely known outside government-insider circles. It functions mainly to cultivate outside support for the president's agenda, working with business, religious and other groups to garner support. The office’s staff sets up events in the White House for community groups like veterans associations and special honorees, attends conferences and events to promote the president and works to create outside political and civic campaigns.

The operation could prove especially useful for Trump, who so far has largely been blocked from carrying out his legislative agenda, which includes a repeal of Obamacare, an overhaul of the tax code and a massive infrastructure package.

Those who have worked in the office in the past say it is an important component to building support for the White House’s agenda.

“The president had a very strong belief that if you bring people into the process early on, that they will have a stake in it and be more likely to work with you,” said Bobbie Kilberg, who ran the office under President George H.W. Bush. "We were trying to build large coalitions across all areas."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, acknowledged that the office’s operations have been bumpy in the first year. She said the White House is adding staff to the office and that it is undergoing a revamp.

“It’s pretty safe to say the early months were not as smooth as they could have been,” she said.

But she also defended the office, saying it had done valuable work reaching out to veterans and religious groups — and that the office had conducted “dozens and dozens” of listening sessions. She added that the operation had worked hard during the confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to build outside support.

And some outside groups, including religious ones, said they'd had lots of access to Trump. "You talk to religious leaders, and you hear that they've been in in the past eight months more than the past eight years," said Ralph Reed, who leads the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

Still, even in a White House riven by chaos in the early months, the office gained notoriety for being a “dumpster fire place to work,” one former senior official said.

Aides in other departments didn’t know what the office did, and George Sifakis, who was named the office’s director in March, gave employees little direction or authority, several officials said. On many days, the staff — about a dozen aides — didn’t know what Sifakis was doing or what they were supposed to be doing, several officials said.

Sifakis declined to comment on the record. A Sifakis ally said many of the events went well, and that he had a far smaller staff than previous offices, but some White House officials don’t agree with that assessment.

"There was no organization, no calendar, nothing," one former official said.

For example, senior White House officials wanted statements from business and community groups to praise Trump at the 100-day mark of the presidency and help improve the news coverage, which Trump was obsessed about.

The office could not deliver the statements as the aides wanted. Staff members were also asked to count how many potential outsider advocates they’d met with, and it created something of a scramble because people were not keeping close tabs, several officials said. Eventually, they estimated an imprecise number for public reports because it was impossible to know, officials said.

Simple events sometimes went off the rails. When the president hosted the country's top teachers earlier this year, the Office of Public Liaison didn't have the Rose Garden or East Room as in years past because they were already booked.

Instead, angry family members who thought they would be going into the White House were held inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as teachers filed into the Oval Office for a photo, and were told they could watch on a small TV screen. Some family members grew upset, with others streaming into the long driveway or trying to enter the West Wing lobby.

After the event, aides were angry. "It was a total disaster," one person with knowledge of the planning said.

The White House offered a different version of events, saying many teachers were happy with the event and that some of those upset were likely union officials who didn't like the president regardless.

The office was also seen as a patronage dumping ground for friends and allies of Trump and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, who installed Sifakis, a fellow Greek and the founder of information management firm Ideagen, and Stephen Munisteri, a Texas Republican Party official who is close to Priebus.

Trump, for his part, installed Manigault and Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew in the office, and attempted to place Anthony Scaramucci in the office before he was ultimately passed over for the director spot.

Five months after being named to the post, Sifakis was swept out as Priebus resigned, and Kelly, his successor, moved Johnny DeStefano, the White House head of personnel, into the director slot on an interim basis. DeStefano has tried to understand aides' basic tasks and give assignments — like reaching out to business and trade groups, or meeting with specific groups.

DeStefano is also trying to persuade others in the West Wing to work with the office more, according to one person who spoke to him. And he has "made peace" with Manigault, said one friend of DeStefano.

But he is not expected to be tapped for the job permanently, and officials said they were unsure to whom it would be offered.

Manigault has been seen as a particular problem in the office — with several high-profile incidents, including an August appearance on a National Association of Black Journalists panel in New Orleans in which she tangled with the moderator and was heckled by audience members for defending Trump. She also stoked a mini-controversy in June by signing invitations for Congressional Black Caucus members to meet Trump as the “Honorable Omarosa Manigault.”

The latter incident became a punch line in the White House, several aides said, adding that there has been a growing effort to keep her out of meetings because she can be a distraction.

Trump continues to like Manigault, even though her access to the Oval Office has been curbed, along with several other senior aides, as part of Kelly’s efforts to control the flow of information to Trump.

Sanders said Manigault had been crucial to outreach with African-American communities, particularly on entrepreneurship.

I can't believe we are paying this waste of a human.

[Ozlsn]

On 16/08/2017 at 2:25 AM, GrumpyGran said:

And LaToya Jackson insinuated that she caused the heart attack that killed him. 

I really should not be laughing at that... or at least not as much as I am. I'm with LaToya on that one. Whether it's true or not I don't know, but it's certainly believable.

39 person bridal party?!? WTF??