Omarosa Manigault Newman: Former Apprentice star set to leave the White House
By Jessica Haynes
Posted Thu 14 Dec 2017 at 12:06am Thursday 14 Dec 2017 at 12:06am Thu 14 Dec 2017 at 12:06am
President Donald Trump with Omarosa Manigault Newman during a meeting on African American History Month earlier this year. (AP: Evan Vucci)
abc.net.au/news/former-apprentice-star-to-leave-white-house-omarosa-newman/9257690
A former contestant from The Apprentice working for US President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House.
And it's making headlines around the world.
Here's why.
Who is Omarosa Manigault Newman?
She's a former contestant from Mr Trump's television show, The Apprentice.
She featured in the reality show's first season where she was pegged as the "villain" and was fired in an awkward and teary meeting where Mr Trump said "life is full of problems".
[Scroll to the 5:58 minute mark for her firing.]
She then went on to appear on Celebrity Apprentice, where she famously butted heads with other contestant Piers Morgan.
She went on to write a book, The Bitch Switch in 2008, a self-help book on "how to turn on (or turn off) that bitch switch".
How did she get a job at the White House?
She actually started her career in politics working at the office of Vice-President Al Gore.
However, she attracted plenty of critics when she was appointed to a role at the White House, with many saying she was unqualified to become Office of Public Liaison and its hefty salary of $US179,000.
And others claimed she was "unprofessional".
The fact Mr Trump made comments to Playboy magazine in 2004 that he wouldn't even give her a job reference "except if she was appearing on a soap opera" didn't exactly help.
Neither did another story about her bringing her entire wedding party to the White House for an impromptu photo shoot.
Late last year the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program spoke with Mrs Manigault Newman during the transition period.
Omarosa Manigault was the African-American outreach for Donald Trump's presidential campaign before taking on a role at the White House. (Foreign Correspondent: Emma Alberici)
During Mr Trump's campaign, she was the director of African-American engagement, and "responsible for engaging faith leaders, or rights leaders, the community as a whole to making sure their issues were addressed".
The former Democrat staffer stopped short of labelling herself a Republican.
"I'm a very proud Trumplican, and there is a whole army of Trumplicans ready to go to battle for now President-elect Trump," she said.
She defended some of the more controversial comments Mr Trump made during the campaign, including those aimed at the Mexican community and Islamic community.
"At the time he stepped up to announce that, he was a private citizen coming from the private sector, [who] was going to run to be President," she said.
"He didn't have some brilliant speechwriters as his opponent had to write the proper things, to say the exact proper things, to pander to certain people.
"He was a citizen who observed things, that troubled him…
"How you campaign and how you govern are two different things."
So, why is she leaving?
The White House has announced she will be leaving her post next month, on January 20, one year after Mr Trump took office.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "We wish her the best in future endeavours and are grateful for her service."
Buzzfeed America have reported a White House official revealed there had been an ongoing concern on how the administration handled racially charged issues, which started as far back as the Charlottesville incident, where Mr Trump appeared to sympathise with white supremacists.
Mr Trump had said: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides."
Associated Press is reporting that she was escorted from the White House complex, but was allowed to tender her resignation
CNN's White House correspondent April Ryan has reported that she was fired by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly after a tirade.
Why is this significant?
Mrs Manigault Newman was one of the most vocal African-American supporters of Mr Trump, and his only African-American staffer.
But she's certainly not the first to leave a role under President Trump.
It follows a year of defections and firings of key staff members including Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci.
And it is set to start a wave of departures.
Deputy national security adviser Dina Powell is also departing early next year, the White House said last week.
Mr Trump has also tweeted a message of thanks.
Posted 14 Dec 2017 14 Dec 2017 Thu 14 Dec 2017 at 12:06am
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