Omarosa Manigault: The Villainous Figure Lurking in Donald Trump’s White House

Omarosa Manigault gained notoriety as one of reality TV’s most hated personalities on the first season of Donald Trump’s NBC series, The Apprentice.

Now, thirteen years later, she has found herself in the White House, still trying to win Trump’s favor and maintain her villainous image.

According to four sources within and outside of the West Wing, Manigault is isolated inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as she quietly plots against her fellow senior officials.

Her colleagues regularly complain about her behavior and work ethic, claiming that she frequently derails internal meetings with irrelevant or counterproductive interjections.

She has even earned a reputation for attempting to micromanage White House communications operations.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has attempted to curtail Manigault’s direct access to the president, but her continued proximity to Trump underscores just how difficult her tenure has been for those tasked with managing the administration.

Despite her lack of allies in high places, Manigault has managed to maintain Trump’s trust, which is no small feat considering the president’s limited circle of confidantes.

Sources close to the president say that Manigault doesn’t do much day-to-day, despite earning $179,700 annually, the top rate for White House staffers.

Manigault and the White House press office did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal affairs.

Multiple sources recounted specific incidents where Manigault would walk into White House meetings and immediately try to hijack the meeting with off-topic conversation or gossip.

One such incident took place in April when the communications staff met to strategize ways to respond to an emerging story about whether White House and administration officials had signed an ethics pledge imposed by an executive order, and whether any had received waivers from provisions of that pledge.

Manigault attended the meeting, but instead of helping to plot strategy, she bragged about the waiver her personal attorney was going to secure for her.

White House officials say that during meetings that include Manigault, aides will often take out their smartphones and start messaging each other saying they wished she would stop talking or leave the room entirely.

Another source familiar with Manigault’s portfolio said she would occasionally attend prep sessions for the White House daily briefing, where she would bring up random, off-topic issues and never have a solution.

Manigault has also overstepped her authority by attempting to manage aspects of the White House press operation outside of her purview.

One source recalled Manigault attending a press pool photo spray in the Oval Office and suddenly directing media to leave without any input from the press office wrangler, who normally handles logistics.

Despite causing headaches in the White House press shop, Manigault has outlasted a chief of staff, a chief strategist, two communications directors, a national security advisor, and a press secretary, among other officials.

However, she has been relegated to the White House fringes, literally and figuratively, as former chief of staff Reince Priebus and ex-press secretary Spicer took pains to ensure her office remained in the Eisenhower Executive Office building, and not in the West Wing itself.

Kelly and his deputy, Kirstjen Nielsen, are not fans of Manigault, but for all the internal drama she’s stirred, Manigault’s salvation has been her close relationship with Trump.

The president continues to call her, even at late hours, to seek her counsel on policy, politics, poll numbers, and media coverage, particularly pertaining to Russia election meddling news and feuds with Republican lawmakers.

The degree to which the president will listen to her is what got her on Kelly’s bad side in the first place.

Within Trump’s inner circle, Manigault became notorious for frequently popping into the Oval Office and distracting and infuriating Trump with pieces of negative news coverage, celebrity gossip, and stories of palace intrigue.

Manigault’s position of both influence and nuisance in the Trump administration isn’t even the first time she’s caused trouble in a White House.

In the 1990s, she enjoyed a brief stint in the Clinton administration, briefly serving in both the White House and the office of Vice President Al Gore.

Neither of the jobs lasted long, as she was reportedly a nightmare to work with, to the point where at least one female colleague wanted to inflict physical violence on her.