The sad case of George Conway

We all know that social media is bad for the soul. If someone is in, as they say, ‘a bad place’, a good friend wouldn’t send them onto Twitter. A good friend would tell them to switch off, put away the iPhone, and get some fresh air, away from the fervid online swamp of liking, blue-ticks, trolls, and ratios.

George Conway needs that sort of friend right now. The poor man is clearly not well. His wife Kellyanne works for Donald Trump. He hates Trump and goes around saying how awful the 45th president is. There’s been all sorts of speculation as to the health of relationship, speculation that intensified earlier this week when he snapped at his wife on, yes, Twitter. Kellyanne had tweeted about Joe Biden. ‘We need Ukraine’s help to defeat THIS guy?’ she asked, mocked. ‘Your boss apparently thought so,’ he replied, tartly. This was the first time he had challenged his betrothed in public on the matter of her boss, and it was what other lonely Twitter addicts call a ‘popcorn moment’ — a marital Trump spat that the nosey world could all enjoy.

He then got into an ugly spat with Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager.

I remember how irrelevant you were when I met you, how far you have come with hate! Soon you will be irrelevant again, can’t wait!

I remember you sitting at @KellyannePolls table waiting for attention like a lost puppy.#JustSayin, I really thought you were her body man. https://t.co/q4Z3G9Baed

— Brad Parscale (@parscale) December 5, 2019

And he has since been retweeting criticism of his wife:

It’s all so childish, embarrassing, and sad. Conway’s tweeting suggests someone who just isn’t well mentally. For starters, there is volume: George has tweeted over 130 times in the last 24 hours. Doesn’t he have any work to do? And shouldn’t he be spending more time paying attention to his wife and children?

Then there is his misanthropic and overly cynical tone. He’s just launched a rather ill-tempered attack on Melania Trump after the First Lady objected to her son Barron’s name being mentioned in the impeachment hearing.

‘So therefore you’re amplifying what was a nothingburger reference a hundred-thousand-fold. Got it, he tweeted at Mrs Trump.

Politics is a nasty business, always. Political familial bickering on Twitter is downright wicked and should be avoided. Turn Twitter off George, for your family’s sake. One doubts that the Conway’s two children will look back on the time dad bitched about mom on Twitter with any great fondness.

Cockburn met George at The Spectator’s US launch party in New York; he arrived with avid NeverTrumpers Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast. Perhaps Cockburn’s conversational skills were disappointing, but George looked glum. He wanted to be friendly but he exuded the atmosphere of somebody who has spent too much time letting his anger fester.

George’s new professional Trump-loathing pals may be encouraging him to vent his marital misery in public; they certainly all retweet each other a lot. But Cockburn can’t help wondering if they really have his best interest at heart?

Got a tip for Cockburn? Email cockburn@spectator.us.