White House journalist April Ryan issued a stern warning to Omarosa Manigault-Newman after the former Trump aide named-dropped her during an explosive interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend.
Manigault-Newman, who was ousted from the White House earlier this year, stopped by the show Sunday to promote her new tell-all book “Unhinged,” during which they aired a secret taping the former reality star took inside the White House “Situation Room” of chief of staff John Kelly firing her.
The recording has sparked concerns that Manigault-Newman broke national security protocol by bringing a secret taping device inside what is supposed to be one of the most secure parts of the White House.
“He (Trump) knew that John Kelly was going to take me into the Situation Room, and lock me in there, threaten me, and say that things were going to get ugly for me, [and] there’d be damage to me reputation,” the former “Apprentice” star said. ” … And you know what, the next day there was damage to my reputation because they then put out a story using and exploiting an African-American reporter to say that I was running around the residence and trying to break into a Christmas party, which is ludicrous.”
The African-American reporter Manigault-Newman alluded to was Ryan, who didn’t appreciate the name-drop.
Twitter screenshot.
The tweet drew mixed reactions from users, some of whom sided with Omarosa for finally calling out Trump’s racism and bigotry.
“It’s crazy that everyone gets to tell their story about working for Trump but Omarosa gets dragged and ridiculed,” one person wrote. “I don’t see the same kind of energy going towards [Sean] Spicer or [James] Comey.”
“Breach or not. Can we talk about the chief of staff threatening her for her silence?” another person chimed in. “This is not the mafia. That should be a huge scandal.”
Another user said they hoped Manigault-Newman wasn’t the only one making secret recordings in the White House, as there are probably “lots of lies just waiting to be uncovered.”
In a subsequent interview with CNN, Ryan described her former friend as “evil” and a “liar.”
“She was complicit, but she was doing all this knowing that there was going to be a payoff in the end for her, and then once she got upset with him or he got upset with her or whatever happened, she decides to turn on him,” she told host Ryan Stelter of Manigault- Newman’s initial support of the president. “She’s not a friend, she’s a liar, and I would say she’s evil.”
“Unhinged” is set to hit shelves Aug. 14. Meanwhile, Ryan’s memoir, titled “Under Fire” will be available Sept. 1.
Watch more in the clip below.
