Omarosa Walks Back Jabs: Trump Has Made Me ‘Excited’ And ‘Concerned’

Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison for the Trump administration, was present for he Medal of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army in the East Room of the White House, on Monday, July 31, 2017. (Photo by Cheriss May) (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto)
Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison for the Trump administration, was present for he Medal of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army in the... Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison for the Trump administration, was present for he Medal of Honor ceremony for former Specialist Five James C. McCloughan, U.S. Army in the East Room of the White House, on Monday, July 31, 2017. (Photo by Cheriss May) (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Fresh off the set of “Celebrity Big Brother,” former White House aide and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Omarosa Manigault-Newman walked back some of the criticism of President Donald Trump and the White House that she unloaded while starring on the reality TV show.

During an interview with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday evening, Manigault-Newman clarified what she meant when she told a fellow “Big Brother” contestant that she was “haunted” by Trump’s tweets every day.

“He announced major policy issues on Twitter,” she told Colbert. “The transgender ban, for instance, was announced on Twitter. I don’t know that that’s, for someone who is in communication like Hope and myself, that’s not a place you want to find out at 5 in the morning about something that would impact so many people’s lives. You want to find out in a policy briefing from the director of domestic policy about those issues and the subsequent follow up for it, not on Twitter.”

She also claimed that she was referencing immigration policy when she warned “it’s gonna not be okay, it’s not.” When Colbert posed the same question, she said “we will have to wait and see.”

While on “Big Brother” she said that leaving the White House was like leaving a “plantation.” On Colbert, she said she meant the White House was like an “ecosystem” where “people feel oppressed.” 

“Donald Trump was my friend for 15 years,” she said. “Watching him in this position has caused me to be excited and sometimes be very, very concerned.”

Colbert then asked her to respond to a list of moves Trump has been widely criticized for, like his comments on the “Access Hollywood” tape; his response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; his defense of accused child molester Roy Moore; his attacks on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for being a prisoner of war; calling Mexicans rapists; throwing paper towels at Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

“Awful, awful, awful, unacceptable, awful, awful, awful, unequivocally unacceptable,” she said in response. “Most of them he shouldn’t have done. … I don’t work for him anymore, nor do I regret trying to be a voice of reason at the table.”

Manigault Newman, who met Trump when she was on “The Apprentice,” hinted after she left the White House that she felt she had been wronged by the circumstances surrounding her departure. After she was fired by Kelly, she reportedly was escorted out of the White House by Secret Service for trying to talk to the President, all reports she denies.

During an interview with “Good Morning America” in December, she said she had “concerns” that led to her resignation, but has since only vaguely hinted at the details.

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