She said that when she shares her thoughts on working in the Trump administration, it will be “a profound story that everyone will want to hear.”
Omarosa Manigault said Thursday that she was not fired and escorted off the White House grounds, blaming “one individual who has a personal vendetta against me” for the dramatic narrative of her departure as one of Trump’s top aides.
In her first comments since the White House confirmed that she was leaving, Manigault said during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that her decision to leave came after she sat down for a candid conversation with Chief of Staff John Kelly and shared her concerns about the job and the administration. Her resignation from her job as director of communications for the office of the public liaison is effective Jan. 20.
Manigault told host Michael Strahan that as “the only African-American woman in this White House senior staff, I have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me and affected me deeply and emotionally and affected my people and my community.” She said that when she is able to share her thoughts and experiences of working in the Trump administration, it will be “a profound story that everyone will want to hear.”
Manigault, who earned the top-level staff annual salary of $179,700, was, along with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, one of two black officials among Trump’s more than three dozen Cabinet members and senior staffers.
I have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me and affected me deeply and emotionally and affected my people and my community
She has had a close friendship with Trump for more than a decade, dating back to when she became the breakout star in the first season of “The Apprentice.” When Trump launched his presidential campaign, she was one of few African-Americans to campaign for him. She fiercely defended him against charges of racism and sexism, saying she owed her careers in entertainment and business to him.
“Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success,” Trump tweeted late Wednesday.
A White House official told The Washington Post that Kelly had grown frustrated with Manigault’s abrasive and attention-seeking style, which included a personal wedding photo shoot in the West Wing in the spring. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, has sought to impose more discipline among White House staffers and limit their communications with the president.
Manigault said in Thursday’s interview that she had “more access than most people” to the president, which rankled some of her colleagues. “People had problems with our 14-year relationship,” she said.
Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success.
She pushed back against reports that she and Kelly had a blow up at a holiday event, saying they were “100 percent false.” Furthermore, she said, if there had been such a fight “where are the pictures or videos?” She did not offer, nor was she asked, the name of the person who she said was spreading the story about her being physically removed from the White House.
“The assertion that I would do that in front of 600 guests at a Christmas party… I have to tell you are completely false,” she said. Instead she said, she and Kelly sat down in the situation room and had “a very straightforward discussion about concerns that I’ve had and issues that I’ve raised and as a result I resigned.”
Manigault’s supporters suggested she had grown increasingly frustrated with the administration’s handling of issues concerning race. Trump has sparked outrage with his responses to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and NFL players’ national anthem protests. Acting in an ill-defined capacity, Manigault struggled to make a connection with African-American constituencies to support Trump’s agenda and chafed at criticism that she had sold out her integrity for a White House job.
In the end, Manigault’s bond with Trump appeared to be one of a kindred spirit instead of policy adviser. It was a union forged during their appearance on the first season of “The Apprentice” in 2004, where she gained fame playing the role of a backbiting villain who would kneecap other contestants in her quest to win. She was fired three times from his shows, but she became a favorite of Trump, who invited her to participate in subsequent iterations of the show.
