Claudia Conway Speaks Out About Being Judged Based on Mom Kellyanne: 'You Are Not a Product of Your Environment'

Claudia Conway is letting the world know who she is, and there’s one thing that’s certain: She is not walking in her controversial parents’ footsteps.

During a recent interview with Bustle, newly 18-year-old Claudia — daughter of Kellyanne Conway, the political consultant known for getting Donald Trump elected to the United States presidency in 2016, and George Conway, conservative lawyer and co-founder of anti-Trump PAC The Lincoln Project — set the record straight on her upbringing, her views, and her current relationship with her mom. One thing she emphasized in particular? “You are not a product of your environment.”

Claudia, at the age of 15, became known far and wide for her scathing TikTok videos calling out her mom’s political views. She then went on to compete on American Idol in 2021 and has since continued to become an influencer of sorts on social media, talking about everything from fashion to progressive activism. Now, she’s relishing the opportunity to clarify her story and share who she’s become as a young woman from such a contentious background.

Explaining her brief absence from interviews, Claudia said, “My words were being misconstrued — especially as a teenager, and especially with the chaos of, one, my home life, and, two, the atmosphere that I was catapulted into,” referring to the volatile climate of the Trump campaign and presidency. She continued, “I was trying to let the world know that you are not a product of your environment. Because I could not be any [more] different from where I came from.”

For example, Claudia passionately condemns Trump and his dangerous beliefs, saying, “A lot of the things he did and said were not in anyone’s best interest, especially little girls like my sisters.” She continued, “My priority always is to protect them and to make sure that they know that they don’t have to believe in the same things that my mom does or my family does. But you can still have open-minded conversations — that’s something so important that I learned.”

In terms of her relationship growing up with her mother, Claudia revealed the abuse she suffered at Kellyanne’s hand: “It was mainly verbal abuse, emotional abuse, stuff like that. Never feeling like I was enough.” But today, after several years of family therapy, Claudia shared, “Our relationship is great now.”

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