Then there's Kellyanne Conway, the whip-smart, confident blonde who shares the executive title of counsellor to the president with Ms Powell, and chief strategist Steve Bannon, former editor of right-wing media outlet Breitbart. The first female campaign manager to win a presidency, 50-year-old Ms Conway has become Mr Trump's most effective media mouthpiece outside of Twitter. "She was absolutely brilliant," an NJ politician who worked with Ms Conway told the outlet. When she told CNN the so-called birther controversy over Mr Obama was done, Mr Trump simply stayed quiet. Ms Conway is savvy enough not to try to change the 70-year-old, but will smooth and guide the way.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 24, 2017 16:18 UTC