InfoSearched
Published -
- December 5, 2019
- 1:42 pm
Kellyanne Conway slams Pamela Karlan
Counselor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway sounds off on impeachment testimony from Stanford Law School professor Pamela Karlan on ‘Fox & Friends.’
What was Pamela Karlan’s joke about Barron Trump during the impeachment hearings?
On December 4th, 2019, Kellyanne Conway, the senior counselor to President Trump, made headlines when she criticized Pamela Karlan, a law professor at Stanford University, during the impeachment hearings in Congress. Karlan had made a joke about Barron Trump, the President’s son, during her testimony, which Conway considered inappropriate for any witness to the proceedings. Conway’s response, however, has raised questions about the civility of political discussion in the current US political climate.
Conway appeared on Fox News on December 4th to discuss Karlan’s testimony. During her time on air, she criticized Karlan’s joke about Barron Trump, calling it a “classless move” by a so-called legal expert. But it was her following outburst that drew the most attention from viewers and news outlets alike.
“Who the hell are you, lady?” Conway said in reference to Karlan. “You’re disrespecting Barron Trump’s name, you’re not respecting him as a minor child and you’re making a brazen one-liner after weeks of making presumptions, conclusions and predictions.”
This comment has been criticized by many, including commentators on both sides of the political aisle. Some have questioned whether Conway’s comments were appropriate for someone in her position, arguing that they set a poor example of how to engage in political discourse. Others have taken issue with the fact that Conway was willing to attack Karlan personally, rather than engage with the substance of her testimony.
What’s clear is that Conway’s comment has added to a larger conversation about the current state of political discourse in the US. Many politicians and pundits have noted that political discussion has become more divisive and inflammatory in recent years, with personal attacks and insults becoming more common. This trend has been driven, in part, by social media, which has made it easier for people to engage in debate without directly speaking to one another.
While there’s no easy solution to this problem, some experts have suggested that politicians could start by focusing on the substance of their arguments, rather than resorting to personal attacks. By engaging in substantive debate, and demonstrating a willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints, they could help to create a healthier political climate in which ideas can be discussed and challenged without resorting to insults and ad hominem attacks.
Conway’s comments about Karlan represent a missed opportunity to engage in this sort of debate. By focusing on Karlan’s joke, and attacking her personally, she missed the chance to engage with the substance of Karlan’s testimony, and to challenge her arguments on their own merits. Whether or not other politicians can learn from this example remains to be seen, but it’s clear that if American political discourse is to become more civil, it will require a concerted effort from everyone involved.
