On Monday, Donald Trump fired his controversial campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. At the time, a report said that Lewandowski was ousted at the behest of Trump’s adult children, specifically his daughter, Ivanka. Then, Trump appeared on The O’Reilly Factor to praise Lewandowski, and to say that his exit was intended so that his campaign could go in a different direction during the general election.
Here’s what Trump had to say about his former campaign manager to O’Reilly:
He’s a good man. We’ve had great success. You know, I got more primary votes than anybody in the history of the Republican Party by a tremendous amount, not by a little bit. I think Corey’s terrific. I watched him before. He was terrific toward me. Said I was a talented person. And he’s a talented person. He’s a good guy. He’s a friend of mine. But I think it’s time now for a different kind of a campaign. We ran a small, beautiful, well-unified campaign. It worked very well in the primaries.
When O’Reilly asks about any infighting or “office politics” happening in his campaign, he merely says, “It happens everywhere.” As for what how the general election campaign will be different, Trump described it as possibly having “a little different style.” This style will presumably be a campaign that will have enough money. On that front, the New York Times reports that the candidate might start using his personal fortune to keep his campaign afloat through November. This report also claims that nobody has been tapped to fill Lewandowski’s position, even though New York Magazine reported Paul Manafort as taking over.
I can’t see Trump really toning down the rhetoric on immigrants, Muslims and other groups, though. It’ll be interesting to see going forward what was Lewandowski’s influence, and what is all Trump.
(h/t Politico)