Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has brought increased scrutiny to former President Donald Trump's campaign since being named running mate, facing fire for his past comments attacking "childless cat ladies" and leaks to the press about how Trump reportedly regrets making the choice in the first place.
According to Marc Caputo writing for The Bulwark, Trump and his allies suspect these leaks are coming from one place: former Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. And they're not happy.
Per the report, nearly two dozen Trump staffers "were quick to shoot down any notion that Trump was turning his back on Vance or was displeased with him amid his rocky rollout. But more than a dozen of those sources volunteered without prompting that they believed Conway ... was undermining him through leaks to the press expressing doubts about his readiness and the campaign’s vetting."
Conway, who previously played a role in steering Trump toward Mike Pence in 2016, reportedly opposed Vance as a running mate.
Conway denied being the source of the leaks, telling The Bulwark, "When it comes to concerned people questioning the vetting or selection of JD Vance, the calls are coming in, not going out,” she said. “I’m not calling them and saying this is bad. People are asking me. They’re not just asking me. They’re asking lots of people.”
She added that all the people blaming her are "ankle biters" and "gossip girls" and Trump won't toss Vance overboard because “he’s loyal. He was loyal to me. He’s a loyal guy. He sticks with things. And he knows firsthand, anybody would have been attacked and anybody picked would’ve been attacked, because he’s always attacked.”
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While a Trump family member said that "the family in general thinks very highly of Conway," another source close to Donald Trump Jr. said of Trump's reaction to the leaks, “He’s p---ed off about it. He knows it’s her.”
Trump hasn't publicly spoken out on any of this; however, he recently took to Truth Social and, during a complaint about Fox News not doing enough to prop him up, offhandedly remarked that Conway "must have done some REALLY nasty things" to her ex-husband George Conway, who has emerged as one of the most outspoken conservative critics of the former president.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story misstated that the author of The Bulwark report was Michael Caputo. The article has been corrected to reflect the author is Marc Caputo.
