Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski rides off into the sunset
Brash and controversial, Corey Lewandowski appeared to be the perfect fit for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. However, as a power struggle had emerged with, as the Guardian called it, “political fixer” Paul Manafort joining the team in April, there appeared to be only room for one person to drive the Trump train — not two.
As such, Lewandowski has left (fired? mutual agreement?) the campaign, with Hope Hick, spokeswoman for the Trump campaign telling The New York Times, in a statement that:
“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. The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”
Judging by the brevity of the statement and the ever-so-cringeworthy “we wish him the best in the future,” it’s possible that Lewandowski did not necessarily leave on his own accord and multiple reports note that the departure came as a surprise.
For his part, Trump has had a few bumpy weeks of late, with a less-than-ideal response to the mass shooting in Orlando (not exactly the best time to chest-thump on being “right” on things), his campaign’s seeming inability to get veterans’ charities pledged donations to the right places and an ongoing string of petulance, attacking a federal judge who happens to be of Hispanic descent and is presiding over two lawsuits against him.
According to The Washington Post, Manafort became the preferred choice of Trump family members and that they had “soured on Lewandowski,” noting to The Post that “the kids do not like (Lewandowski), and they’re certainly happy with [campaign chairman and chief strategist Paul] Manafort. Donald was Corey’s only supporter within Trump Tower.”