Conway fits right in with dysfunctional White House

Meanwhile, back on the call between Kellyanne Conway and the reporter, things got weird -- and a little mean. Portraying herself as a victim, the White House counselor played the woman card. She suggested that it was sexist to mention a woman's spouse in an article about her. When Yilek offered to connect Conway with her editor, who happens to be a man, she went off.

"You're really going places," Conway snarked. "Let me tell you something, from a powerful woman. Don't pull the crap where you're trying to undercut another woman based on who she's married to. He gets his power through me, if you haven't noticed. Not the other way around."

Gee, insecure much? That would make one heck of an inscription on an anniversary card.

I don't think Conway understands feminism. I'll have to check the handbook, but I don't think you get to claim you're being singled out because you're a woman and then attack another woman.

She went on: "You characterize me as being caught in the middle of something that I'm not caught in the middle of. So, why would you do that? Are you an expert on my marriage? Are you an expert on my job?"

My favorite part was when Conway -- who, for the record, has never been a journalist, only a talking head -- lectured Yilek on how to be a journalist. That was priceless.

Conway asked for "a journalistic reason" why the reporter had dragged her husband into the story, even in a passing reference. "If you're going to call yourself a reporter, let's see some reporting," she said.

At the end, came the warning. That's where Conway went all "big brother" on the journalist -- the real journalist, not the one that Conway imagines herself to be.

"If you're going to cover my personal life, then we're welcome to do the same around here," she said.

That's pretty clear -- and a tad scary. You poke around in our personal lives, she tells the reporter, and "we" will poke around in yours.

Other journalists called that a "threat," which Conway denied -- in a somewhat threatening manner. Discussing the call later with reporters, she said: "If I threaten someone, you'll know it."

Over the course of just a few minutes, Conway showed that she's no feminist, no journalist, no professional, and no help to a White House that already has more than its share of side shows and where chaos is the natural order.

All of which means she's a natural for the job of White House chief of staff. A broken president needs people around him who are just as broken.

Congratulations, Kellyanne. I await your call.

========

Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.