The honeymoon period between campaign aide Corey Lewandowski and Donald Trump’s campaign may be over according to a report from The Guardian. Trump’s first campaign manager from his 2016 run was brought back into the MAGA campaign in August, and the ride seems to have been a bumpy one.
According to an anonymous Trump official, Lewandowski has allegedly clashed like the proverbial bull in a china shop with campaign co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles’ current team.
“He blew himself up,” the official tells The Guardian. “The entire staff has been working together for two years. You think you’re going to come in at the end and throw your weight around? A bit misguided.”
Lewandowski’s specific position in the 2024 campaign has reportedly been the subject of much speculation, and seen by many as an example of Trump fostering divisiveness within the MAGA ranks. While the Trump campaign denied reports of Lewandowski-related conflict or uneasiness at the time, a “Trumpworld source” told political reporter Jake LaHut, “There’s probably shit brewing, like the old days.”
Lewandowski has a well-documented history of being a dirtbag, going back to his first turn as Trump’s campaign chief when he was charged with battery for grabbing a reporter during a rally in March 2016. Lewandowski was fired in June 2016, after reports that he clashed with just about everyone except Trump. Lewandowski denied that he had any personality issues with Trump’s children at the time.
In 2021, Lewandowski was removed as head of the Trump-friendly super PAC, Make America Great Again Action, after allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted a top Republican donor, Trashelle Odom. Lewandowski was charged with misdemeanor battery and reached an agreement with prosecutors to dismiss charges in lieu of community service, a fine, and an apology to Odom.
Odom appeared in an interview on CBS last week to retell her uncomfortable encounter with Trump’s buddy, saying she was floored that Lewandowski had been brought back into any position of power in the MAGA world. "He was very kind and said things to make me feel like Corey would not be there anymore," Odom recalled of phone conversations she had with Donald and Eric Trump in the days after the alleged incident.
Lewandowski’s attempts to carve out a larger role in the campaign seems to have been put on hold, at least for now, and he is now allegedly relegated to surrogate duties only. Of course, like Trump, Lewandowski has a real knack for failing upward, so his appearance as a surrogate on CNN, where he was shut down by host Jim Acosta last week for being unable to answer simple questions, doesn’t mean he is going away anytime soon.
As one anonymous Trump ally told The Guardian, “He’s Trump’s comfort blanket. And he’s like a cockroach. He never dies.”
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
