On Wednesday, former Apprentice villain Omarosa Manigault became the latest senior White House staffer to resign. Manigault’s tenure as the Office of the Public Liaison director of communications was marked by rumors of tension with the Trump administration — and leaked gossip reports about her wedding.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, “Omarosa Manigault Newman resigned yesterday to pursue other opportunities. Her departure will not be effective until January 20, 2018. We wish her the best in future endeavors and are grateful for her service.” But shortly before Manigault’s resignation was confirmed, reporter April Ryan teased in a tweet about drama in the White House.
Ryan later followed up with:
Manigault had been in charge of African-American outreach for Trump’s campaign and worked on his transition team before formally joining the administration in January. The Daily Beast reported in September that White House chief of staff John Kelly had been working to cut off Manigault’s access to the president, viewing her as one of the worst offenders in “triggering” Trump, and news reports about her extravagant wedding — including bringing her 39 person wedding party to the White House for a photo shoot — soon followed.
Given that Trump reportedly instructed his “top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals” (at least, according to the New York Times), we suppose it’s only fitting that a former reality show contestant would end up having to leave the administration this way.
