Was the Mueller report good or bad for Trump? Depends on which Conway you ask.

George and Kellyanne Conway have very different reads on the Mueller report. She says it exonerates the president; he says he should be impeached.

The couple, who has been married since 2001, has fostered an awkward public dynamic under President Donald Trump’s administration. She, a top adviser and confidante, is one of the president’s most committed defenders. He, on the other hand, rarely shies away from the opportunity to take a jab at Trump.

And so their contradictory reactions to the 448-page report from special counsel Robert Mueller, released on Thursday, comes as little surprise.

Conway in a Washington Post op-ed called on Congress to remove Trump from office. He described the report as “damning” and characterized Trump as a “one-man show” whose instincts to squash the investigation into him were curtailed by those around him refusing to carry out his orders and follow his requests.

“[P]residential attempts to abuse power by putting personal interests above the nation’s can surely be impeachable,” Conway wrote. “The president may have the raw constitutional power to, say, squelch an investigation or to pardon a close associate. But if he does so not to serve the public interest, but to serve his own, he surely could be removed from office, even if he has not committed a criminal act.”

Conway quoted John Dean, White House counsel to President Richard Nixon, who famously told Nixon there was a “cancer within — close to the presidency, that’s growing” amid the Watergate scandal.

“What the Mueller report disturbingly shows, with crystal clarity, is that today there is a cancer in the presidency: President Donald J. Trump,” Conway wrote. “Congress now bears the solemn constitutional duty to excise that cancer without delay.”

Kellyanne Conway also invoked medical imagery in her take on the Mueller report — but very much in the opposite direction.

“I called this a political proctology exam, and he’s emerging with a clean bill of health,” Conway said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. “There’s no other way to look at it.”

She told reporters the release of the Mueller report had been the “best day” since Trump’s election, and the president was in a “great mood.” Not only did she indicate she has no fears Trump will be ousted from office, but she believes he will win in 2020.

“His greatest rebuttal will be he’s in office. He’s going to remain in office. And he’ll get reelected, because the Democrats have nothing,” she said.

This is a very weird shtick

George Conway, a lawyer who early in Trump’s tenure was considered for a job in the Justice Department, has since become one of the president’s most outspoken critics. He frequently tweets at and about Trump and disparages the president when he believes he’s stepped out of line, all while his wife continues to be one of the president’s most staunch defenders.

Trump has returned fire as well. In March, Trump tweeted that George Conway was “VERY jealous of his wife’s success.” Trump called Conway a “loser” and the “husband from hell.”

The Conways’ marriage has been the subject of much media speculation, given they seem to be truly at odds on the political spectrum or at least the Trump spectrum. Ben Terris at the Washington Post in 2018 profiled their relationship, including one instance where Kellyanne Conway attempted, on background, to disparage her husband. Here’s the exchange, from Terris:

Me: You told me you found [George’s tweets] disrespectful.

Kellyanne: It is disrespectful, it’s a violation of basic decency, certainly, if not marital vows . . . as “a person familiar with their relationship.”

Me: No, we’re on the record here. You can’t say after the fact “as someone familiar.”

Kellyanne: I told you everything about his tweets was off the record.

Me: No, that’s not true. That never happened.

Kellyanne: Well, people do see it this way. People do see it that way, I don’t say I do, but people see it that way.

Me: But I’m saying we never discussed everything about his tweets being off the record. There are certain things you said that I put off the record.

Kellyanne: Fine. I’ve never actually said what I think about it and I won’t say what I think about it, which tells you what I think about it.

She probably wasn’t happy with George’s tweets on the Mueller report, either.

Kellyanne Conway appears determined to stick by Trump. After he attacked her husband in March, Conway defended the president in an interview with Politico. “He left it alone for months out of respect for me,” she said. “But you think he shouldn’t respond when somebody, a non-medical professional accuses hi of having a mental disorder? You think he should just take that sitting down?”

The Conway versus Conway production appears likely to continue.

The news moves fast. Catch up at the end of the day: Subscribe to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast, or sign up for our evening email newsletter, Vox Sentences.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via