MAGA star Corey Lewandowski’s many scandals from Kristi Noem to ‘womp womp’ as strategist hired back by Donald Trump
FORMER President Donald Trump has re-hired his scandal-ridden, ex-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as the 2024 presidential election grows closer.
Lewandowski is set to take on a “senior adviser” role for the current campaign, despite having been fired from a similar team under Trump just eight years ago.
Lewandowski, 50, is known for serving as Trump’s first presidential campaign manager when the New York business mogul set his sights on the White House in 2016.
However, the Massachusetts Republican was ousted from the role in June 2016, months before the election.
While Lewandowski has reportedly stayed close with Trump in the years that followed, according to Forbes, scandal has been attached to his name.
BATTERY CHARGES
Before he was fired in early 2016, Lewandowski was charged with simple battery after a reporter accused him of grabbing her as she attempted to ask Trump a question.
Read More on Donald Trump
The alleged incident reportedly took place during a campaign event at the Trump International Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, according to NBC News.
However, the charges were ultimately dropped after officials determined there wasn’t enough evidence to support the allegations.
“WOMP WOMP”
In 2018, Lewandowski came under fire for a comment he made while appearing on CNN.
At the time, a fellow guest had mentioned a story about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who had been “taken from her mother and put in a cage,” per CNN.
Most read in The US Sun
The guest had been referencing the case of a young Mexican girl who had crossed the border with her mother and brother.
While the siblings were sent to a border facility in McAllen, Texas, the mother was sent to one around an hour away.
“Womp womp,” Lewandowski responded to the anecdote.
While he garnered a lot of criticism for the comment, the former campaign manager stood by his remarks.
“An apology? I owe an apology to the children whose parents are putting them in a position that is forcing them to be separated,” he told Fox News.
“The American people owe an apology to those people,” he later added.
“When you cross the border illegally, you have committed a crime and there is accountability for committing crimes and there should be.”
Trump's main policy points
DONALD Trump closed the Republican National Convention on July 18, telling supporters he wanted to become president for "all Americans.
- Implementing tax cuts, including no tax on tips
- Protecting Social Security and Medicare - Trump said 'incomes will skyrocket and the middle class will prosper like never before'
- Protecting borders - He pledged to end the 'border nightmare.' That means two things on day one - 'Drill baby Drill,' as he said, and close the borders
- Finishing building the wall
- Keeping our 'sons and daughters safe'
- Replenishing the military and building a military 'dome' - Trump insisted he could stop wars with just a phone call and said no military would be able to penetrate the USA if he came into office
- Ending the war in Ukraine and imposing tariffs on Iran
- Vowing to "beat" China
- Working to decrease prices and ease inflation
- Bringing down the cost of energy
- Making cities 'safe, clean and beautiful' again
- Making it possible for Americans to buy gas-run cars by ending the electric vehicle mandate on the first day of his presidency
UNCHARITABLE OFFENSE
Lewandowski was also charged with misdemeanor battery by prosecutors in Las Vegas after he was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward the wife of a donor during a charity dinner in the Nevada city in September 2021.
Trashelle Odom accused the Republican of repeatedly touching her on her leg and buttocks, as well as saying sexually graphic things, according to Politico.
Odom claimed that Lewandowski also allegedly “stalked” her in the hotel where the dinner occurred.
One year after the dinner, Lewandowski reportedly cut a deal with prosecutors on the charges.
Records reviewed by Politico show that the Republican agreed to attend impulse control counseling, serve 50 hours of community service, and pay a $1,000 fine.
He did not have to admit guilt, according to the outlet.
All charges were agreed to be dropped once the conditions were met.
ALLEGED AFFAIR
In September 2023, Lewandowski was accused of engaging in a years-long affair with married South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Multiple sources alleged to The New York Post that the two were quite public in their relationship, having been allegedly spotted kissing in a hotel bar at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference.
“It wasn’t like 2 am,” one source told the outlet.
“It isn’t like we caught them at some dive bar miles away. It’s a lobby bar where everyone is staying and so there’s a bajillion political operatives and journalists and electeds around. I remember I saw it with my own eyes and a couple other people saw it and the blatantness was absurd.”
Another source alleged to the Daily Mail that the couple had been seen publicly touching each other, with Noem supposedly sitting in Lewandowski’s lap while at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 2020.
Noem’s team has lambasted the allegations, with a spokesperson lashing out at the Daily Mail.
“This is so predictable that you would attack Governor Noem less than a week after she endorsed Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States,” they said.
“As Governor Noem said during that endorsement speech: ‘Yes, I will be attacked for speaking the truth to all of you tonight. Yes, I expect Joe Biden, these candidates, their political operatives, and the media will perpetuate ugly, hateful misinformation in an attempt to destroy me and my family because of my opinions. It’s nothing new. I’m getting used to it, honestly.'”
GROWING CAMPAIGN
Lewandowski isn't the only Trump ally joining the Republican's campaign this week.
On Thursday, campaign officials confirmed that former top Trump officials Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh will be joining the team.
Murtaugh previously served as the communications director during Trump's 2020 campaign while Pfeiffer, Breusewitz, and Budowich all served on the MAGA Inc. super PAC.
Co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement obtained by Politico that their veteran experience "will help President Trump prosecute the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical ticket in American history.”
The new campaign additions come as several Republican insiders voiced fears that Trump has been sabotaging his own bid for the White House.
Read More on The US Sun
In the weeks after President Joe Biden's bombshell announcement dropping out of the race, leading the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee, Trump has dropped in the polls.
Now, Harris is leading her Republican opposition in five key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, according to new polling by Cook Political Report.