Lewandowski Has Nothing But Good Things to Say About the Latest Trump ‘Win at All Costs’ Shakeup
Ever the good boy collecting his severance pay and never veering too far off message, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski defended the unexpected moves of his former employer this morning on CNN. Trump installed Stephen J. Bannon of Breitbart News as the new campaign CEO, and added Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager just 82 days before the general election.
Lewandowski — who was fired from the campaign in June — has been serving as a CNN political contributor since his ousting, and he loyally defended his former employer to CNN’s Chris Cuomo this morning. “I think what you have is a candidate who wants to win. This is a clear indication of that.”
“If you look at Stephen Bannon and what they built at Breitbart, it’s win-at-all-costs. And I think that really makes people on the left very afraid because they’re willing to say and do things that others in the mainstream media wouldn’t do,” he continued.
The shakeup from the Republican nominee for President comes after a new wave of allegations targeted at existing campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was alleged to have received $12.7 million in undisclosed payments from Ukrainian partners according to a New York Times story on Sunday. This morning the AP reported that Manafort helped a pro-Russian group in Ukraine successfully route $2.2 million to US lobbying efforts in 2012. While indications show that Manafort’s title has not been changed, the addition of Bannon and Conway would suggest a serious demotion for the suddenly-embattled Manafort, someone Lewandowski may not have the kindest sympathies for.
But when it comes to Bannon and Conway, the former campaign manager could not have spoken more glowingly Wednesday morning. “[Conway’s] an excellent person when it comes to message development,” he offered. “Her being on the plane is something that has been lacking — senior leadership,” he said of Conway, who he thinks will provide a much-needed temperament shift to the campaign trail fighting to stay alive in key battleground states.
“What they’re willing to say and do is the type of mindset that the camp want to take to the Clinton people,” Lewandowski said. “They’re going to take this fight directly to her.”
Watch above via CNN’s New Day.
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[image via screengrab]