Trump fires Lewandowski
Lewandowski: ‘The campaign needs to grow to be successful’
Donald Trump on Monday sacked his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, left, in an apparent bid to mollify critics.
Donald Trump fired his embattled campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, on Monday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee struggled to pivot to the general election and his political operation became at times paralyzed by internal feuding.
The dismissal of Lewandowski, a controversial Trump loyalist who chafed at suggestions that the candidate become more presidential, was seen as an effort to calm Trump’s allies, donors and Republican Party officials who have been alarmed by a series of missteps and dramas.
“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican Primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement to the media Monday.
“The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”
“I have no regrets,” Lewandowski told CNN, just hours after he was escorted out of Trump’s Manhattan campaign headquarters. Still, the former conservative activist seemed to acknowledge the limitations of his approach, which has sparked widespread concern among the GOP’s top donors, operatives, elected officials, and even some of Trump’s family members.
“The campaign needs to continue to grow to be successful,” he said.
Lewandowski clashed internally with Paul Manafort, the campaign’s chairman and senior strategist, and his departure consolidates power around Manafort, a more seasoned operative who has been trying to professionalize the campaign heading into the general election.
Trump was encouraged to part ways with Lewandowski by his three adult children who are involved in the campaign — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — and Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, who has emerged as a Trump confidant, as well as a chorus of allies and other supporters, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Lewandowski has been telling people privately that it was opposition from Trump’s children that ultimately forced him out.