Kellyanne Conway's spouse is a "husband from hell!" President Donald Trump declared Wednesday, escalating his awkward public fight with the husband of one of his closest advisers. A "whack job," he added later.
Trump's feud with George Conway played out with ever more heated rhetoric on social media. Conway, an attorney who has questioned Trump's mental health, fired back after Trump's latest tweet, saying the president seems "determined to prove my point."
The caustic exchanges also drew a response from Kellyanne Conway, the longtime Republican pollster who served as Trump's third campaign manager before joining the administration as a counselor to the president.
FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2019 photo, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump is escalating his increasingly awkward public fight with the spouse of a top aide. Trump is continuing to target Kellyanne Conway's husband on Twitter, calling him "a stone cold LOSER" and "husband from hell!" That's after George Conway, an attorney, repeatedly criticized Trump and questioned the president's mental health. (AP PhotoManuel Balce Ceneta)
Conway, who is considered one of Trump's top advisers and is a high-profile face on television defending him, told Politico that Trump had avoided targeting her husband for months "out of respect for me." But she added: "You think he shouldn't respond when somebody, a non-medical professional, accuses him of having a mental disorder? You think he should just take that sitting down?"
Trump on Wednesday called Conway's husband "A total loser!" He claimed George Conway was "VERY jealous of his wife's success" and was assailing the president because Trump "didn't give him the job he so desperately wanted." In fact, it was George Conway who took himself out of consideration for a position with the Justice Department, citing family considerations.
"I barely know him, but just take a look," Trump added on Twitter, "a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!"
Speaking to reporters later as he left the White House for a trip to Ohio, Trump called George Conway a "whack job" and said he's doing a "tremendous disservice" to his wife and family.
George Conway has repeatedly questioned the president's mental state, tweeting that "Americans should be thinking seriously now about Trump's mental condition and psychological state."
On Wednesday, after Trump's latest tweet, George Conway, posted a link to the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality order, and wrote in response to Trump's latest missive: "You. Are. Nuts."
He also congratulated Trump Tuesday for having "guaranteed that millions of more people are going to learn about narcissistic personality disorder and malignant narcissism!"
"Great job!" he wrote.
George Conway has also pushed back on the idea that he doesn't know Trump personally, telling The Washington Post that he has had a number of conversations with Trump over the past decade. He described Trump's presidency as "maddening to watch" and said he himself tweets so he doesn't "end up screaming" at his wife about the president.
A campaign official said that Trump has met countless people and that it was unclear if Trump would recognize George Conway if he approached him. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Washington author and hostess Sally Quinn said she chatted about the situation with Kellyanne Conway and several other writers at a recent party.
"She kept saying she couldn't understand why people wanted to talk about it," Quinn said. "I said it's a good story."
A longtime chronicler of Washington's social scene, Quinn couldn't recall a similar type of spat.
"People often will compare it to Mary Matalin and James Carville," she said, referring to the married political consultants from opposing parties. But she said it was not the same. "What they disagreed on was policy. I think this is a totally different situation. This is about morals and values and ethics."
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that American military aid on its way to Ukraine will make a “real difference” on the battlefield, as the top diplomat made an unannounced visit to reassure an ally facing a fierce new Russian offensive.
In increasingly intense attacks along the northeastern border in recent days, Moscow’s troops have captured around 100 to 125 square kilometers (about 40 to 50 square miles) of territory that includes at least seven villages, according to open source monitoring analysts. Though most of those villages were already depopulated, thousands of civilians in the area have fled the fighting.
Analysts have called this moment one of the most dangerous for Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 — and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Tuesday for more air defense systems to protect civilians under Russian fire in the northeast.
“We know this is a challenging time,” Blinken said in the Ukrainian capital where he met with Zelenskyy. But he added that American military aid is “going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield.”
The visit comes less than a month after Congress approved a long-delayed foreign assistance package that sets aside $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, much of which will go toward replenishing badly depleted artillery and air defense systems.
Some of that “is now on the way,” Blinken said, and some has already arrived in Ukraine.
Moscow’s renewed offensive in the northeastern region of Kharkiv is the most significant border incursion since the early days of the war — and comes after months when the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line barely budged.
More than 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the area, according to authorities. The Kremlin’s forces are also expanding their push to the northern border regions of Sumy and Chernihiv, Ukrainian officials say, and Kyiv's outgunned and outnumbered soldiers are struggling to hold them back.
Troops fought street to street on the outskirts of Vovchansk, which is among the largest towns in the Kharkiv area, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on national television. Two civilians were killed in Russian shelling Tuesday, he said.
The U.N. human rights office said the battles are taking a heavy toll.
“We are deeply concerned at the plight of civilians in Ukraine,” Liz Throssell, spokeswoman for the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in Geneva. “In the Kharkiv region, the situation is dire.”
Zelenskyy thanked Blinken for the U.S. aid — but added that more is necessary, including two Patriot air defense systems that are urgently needed to protect Kharkiv.
“The people are under attack: civilians, warriors, everybody. They’re under Russian missiles,” he said.
Artillery, air defense interceptors and long-range ballistic missiles have already been delivered, some of them already to the front lines, said a senior U.S. official traveling with the secretary on an overnight train from Poland who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of Blinken’s meetings.
Ahead of the trip, U.S. officials noted that since President Joe Biden signed the aid package late last month, the administration has already announced $1.4 billion in short-term military assistance and $6 billion in longer-term support.
The administration is “trying to really accelerate the tempo” of U.S. weapon shipments, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
But delays in U.S. assistance, particularly since the Israel-Hamas war began and has preoccupied top administration officials, have triggered deep concerns in Kyiv and Europe. Blinken, for example, has visited the Middle East seven times since the Gaza conflict began in October. His last trip to Kyiv was in September.
On his fourth trip to Kyiv since Russian troops rolled over the border, Blinken emphasized the United States' support for Ukraine's independence and eventual recovery, according to spokesperson Matthew Miller. The U.S. diplomat and the Ukrainian president also discussed long-term security arrangements and Ukraine's economic welfare.
Blinken was due to give a speech later Tuesday extolling Ukraine’s “strategic successes” in the war. It is intended to complement a Blinken address last year in Helsinki, Finland, deriding Putin for Moscow’s strategic failures in launching the war.
Since the Helsinki speech, however, Russia has intensified its attacks, most noticeably as the U.S. House of Representatives sat on the aid package for months without action, forcing a suspension in the provision of most U.S. assistance. Those attacks have increased in recent weeks as Russia has sought to take advantage of Ukrainian shortages in manpower and weapons while the new assistance is in transit.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to make a two-day state visit to China this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Beijing has backed Moscow politically in the war and has sent machine tools, electronics and other items seen as contributing to the Russian war effort, without actually exporting weaponry.
“A strong, successful, thriving, free Ukraine is the best possible rebuke to Putin and the best possible guarantor for your future,” Blinken told Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
The senior U.S. official said despite some recent setbacks, Ukraine could still claim significant victories. Those include reclaiming some 50% of the territory Russian forces took in the early months of the war, boosting its economic standing and improving transportation and trade links, not least through military successes in the Black Sea.
The official acknowledged that Ukraine faces “a tough fight” and is “under tremendous pressure” but argued that Ukrainians “will become increasingly more confident” as the new U.S. and other Western assistance begins to arrive.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fourth left, speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, third right, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, prior to their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, prior to their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, watches Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, right, prior to their meeting in Kyiv Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, prior to their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in an unannounced diplomatic mission to reassure Ukraine that it has American support as it struggles to defend against increasingly intense Russian attacks. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, arrives by train at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken works while traveling on a Ukraine Railways train to Kiev, Monday, May 13, 2024, near Lviv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, front, waits with Ukrainian Railways staff and others to greet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, arrives by train at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken works while traveling on a Ukraine Railways train to Kiev, Monday, May 13, 2024, near Lviv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, walks to board a Ukrainian Railways train at Przemysl Glowny train station while traveling to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, May 13, 2024, from Przemysl, Poland. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink after arriving by train at Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi station May 14, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski(Photographers name/Pool Photo via AP)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Monday, May 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken works while traveling on a Ukraine Railways train to Kiev, Monday, May 13, 2024, near Lviv, Ukraine. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
