George Conway correctly predicted Trump couldn't keep up the post-shooting unity shtick for 24 hours

(Image credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

published 6 August 2019

President Trump proclaimed in a speech Monday that after back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, "we must honor the sacred memory of those we have lost by acting as one people" and "seek real, bipartisan solutions that will truly make America safer and better for all." Less than 24 hours later he was live-tweeting Fox & Friends slamming former President Barack Obama, apparently for saying Monday that America must "reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments," as well as "leaders who demonize those who don't look like us."

Matthew Gertz, a Media Matters fellow who frequently matches Trump's tweets with what was on TV at the time, explained Trump's morning tweetstorm this way:

Do you know who wasn't surprised? George Conway, conservative lawyer, #NeverTrump stalwart, and husband to Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.

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This is what Conway had predicted Sunday night:

So Conway took his bow, but he also downplayed his predictive prowess, claiming no special clairvoyance. As he tweeted Sunday night: "We've seen this movie before how many times?"

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.