6:17
- ABC News
- December 16, 2017
Sources: Omarosa had tough time in White House
Sources say she turned off some constituencies instead of building bridges.
A spokesperson for the NABJ did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump praised Manigault Newman Thursday when asked about her departure, saying \"I like Omarosa. Omarosa's a good person.\"
But some others in the White House said they didn't see it the same way.
While Manigault Newman was a confidante of the president, she failed to forge other close allies in the White House, according to two White House officials.
Manigault Newman described her experience in Trump’s White House as “very lonely” to ABC News’ “Nightline” and detailed an environment in which it was tough working alongside Trump’s other senior advisers – most of them white and who “had never worked with minorities, didn't know how to interact with them.”
“It has been very, very challenging being the only African-American woman in the senior staff,” she said.
She was also troubled by the president’s much criticized remarks in response to the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to a source familiar with Manigault Newman’s perspective.
When Gen. John Kelly became chief of staff, he sought to redefine her role, sources told ABC News. She complained of isolation after he cut off her open access to the Oval Office, as he did with other senior staff, according to the officials. She and Kelly had what she described as a \"candid conversation\" in the White House Situation Room.
\"[Chief of staff] John Kelly and I had a very straightforward discussion about concerns that I had, issues that I raised, and as a result, I resigned,\" Manigault said on ABC News' \"Good Morning America.\"
Even though she had a communications director title, the press team stopped inviting her to the prep sessions for the briefing because she would bring up unrelated topics, according to a senior White House official.
Since Manigault resigned on Tuesday, emails to her White House account bounce back and she no longer has access to parts of the White House grounds, sources say.
The White House says she’s technically employed until Jan. 20.
ABC News' Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
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