[gtranslate]
News

Internet hero or rebellious teenager? The Claudia Conway saga, explained

CH

by Caitlin Hely

Photo Illustration: Megan Paetzhold

Photo Illustration: Megan Paetzhold

CH

by Caitlin Hely

Who is Claudia Conway and why is she trending online? The young girl stirring the political pot from the inside.

Claudia Conway, like any 15-year-old these days, is on TikTok. However, due to her high profile parents and inside political scoops, she has amassed quite the following online. Naturally, this has placed her front and centre in the headlines and caused a media stir, with some outlets and fans labelling her the ultimate Gen-Z whistleblower.

In case you aren’t familiar with her, Claudia is the 15-year-old daughter of George and Kellyanne Conway. Kellyanne worked alongside President Donald Trump as his campaign manager in 2016, before becoming his counsellor from 2017 to August of this year. On the other hand, Kellyanne’s husband, George, is an attorney – who since 2018, has been a well-known critic of Trump.

Trump1

Both George and Kellyanne Conway hold highly conservative political views. But unlike her parents, Claudia Conway doesn’t, and like many of her generation, she has plenty to say about her left-wing political stance.

Claudia well and truly came into the mainstream consciousness in August of this year, after Kellyanne was forced to announce her resignation from the White House following a very public feud between the pair. It started when Claudia spoke out against her mother’s speaking slot at the RNC.

Following this, she tweeted her plans of “pushing for emancipation” – although she later clarified it was not because her mother was speaking at the RNC and rather because of years of “trauma and abuse”.

The next day, both Kellyanne and George announced that they were stepping back from their respective positions – with Kellyanne reiterating her support of Trump in her accompanying statement.

Claudia seemingly confirmed that her parents’ resignations were a result of her actions, describing on TikTok: “Look what I did.”

@claudiamconwaythe power i hold – i— they think this is gonna stop me from getting emancipated? NANSHAJAB BYE♬ original sound – claudia conway

Since then, Claudia’s TikTok’s has well and truly gone viral and her Twitter has blown up after months of posting anti-Trump messages and inside details of her family. Claudia has made no secret of her disdain for the current president and has urged everyone to vote him out of office in the upcoming election. She has called out her mother’s behaviour as “internalised misogyny” and describes herself and her following as leftist, ACAB, anti-trump, BLM.

Claudia has created and fuelled a spectacle that is impossible to look away from. A teenager who is openly taking to social media to undermine her mother and her relationship with Trump, whilst embracing and preaching the leftist notions that her parents scorn.

Most recently, over the weekend Claudia broke the news of her mother’s coronavirus contraction before it had been announced.

@claudiamconwaybye i’m done i’ll see you all in two weeks♬ smack my blank like a drum – andy war

This caused a fight between the two, which Claudia recorded in a video posted to TikTok. In the since-deleted footage, Kellyanne can be heard swearing at her. “You’ve caused so much disruption,” Kellyanne says. “You lied about your fucking mother, about COVID!”

Elsewhere, Claudia commented on Trump’s recent coronavirus infection, stating on TikTok that the president’s claims of good health were “ridiculous”, saying “apparently he is doing badly… and they are doing what they can to stabilise him”.

However, after her comments were picked up by the media (and taken to imply that she can some kind of intel), Claudia came out and clarified that she has no “special” insight:

“When I said that President Trump was not “doing better”, I was, as many teenagers are, speculating and assuming. I have absolutely no “special” insight into the President’s health status. I did not get any information from my mother. I wish the President and the First Lady great health and a speedy recovery.”

@claudiamconwayi keep having to repost it because tiktok keeps adding weird sounds♬ original sound – ThatVeganTeacher

Whilst some have heralded Claudia as a hero and even someone who holds the potential to destroy the Republican Party from within, many are saying that at 15 years of age, it’s wrong to label her anything of the sort. Regardless of how you see her, teenagers should be able to be emotional, rebellious, outspoken, and inconsistent without being scrutinised to the level that Claudia has been – and without news outlets elevating it into something more than it is.

If you want to stay across Claudia Conway, give her a follow on Twitter or TikTok – but as with everything on the internet, take it with a grain of salt.

Related