Despite his firing back in June, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski hasn’t enjoyed that much time out of the limelight. Since then, Lewandowski has spent a considerable amount of time on CNN as a paid commentator, where he’s bashed the Khan family, regurgitated the ol’ “birtherism” arguments, and a slew of other faulty arguments and brash statements. And through it all, the former Trump associate has never swayed too far from his support of the Republican nominee — something many media pundits have criticized CNN for.
Never fear, for according to the Washington Post, Lewandowski’s continued severance pay from the Trump campaign is quite considerable.
Lewandowski… collected at least $415,000 in salary, bonuses and severance from the Trump campaign between April 2015 and August of this year, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal campaign finance filings. Campaign officials said he will continue receiving his $20,000 monthly pay as severance until the end of the year, which would give him a total of $495,000 over two years.
If that sounds like a lot of money to you, especially since Lewandowski no longer works for Trump, then congratulations! Your hearing and reading comprehension are perfectly fine. For as the Post points out, Lewandowski’s ongoing pay “appears to be higher than that of his counterparts” in both major parties, but a direct comparison is impossible since he’s “paid a flat fee through a limited-liability company rather than a campaign paycheck.”
Even so, the Post offered numbers from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, who earns “between $7,000 and $11,000 a month” and “has been paid a total of $141,704 in salary from April 2015 through August of this year.” Meanwhile, Matt Rhoades — who served as Mitt Romney’s campaign manager in 2012 — took home “between $12,050 and $13,750 a month after deductions, for a total of $312,884 in salary and bonuses.”
Lewandowski defended the numbers in an interview, saying they “[paled] in comparison to what everyone else is making” on the Trump campaign. “I don’t take a percentage of anything. I get a flat fee.” For unlike typical higher-up positions in presidential campaigns, Lewandowski didn’t earn commissions from money spent on mail, media and other avenues.
(Via the Washington Post)