With Paul Manafort out of the picture, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has re-entered Trump’s orbit, and according to sources close to the campaign, will join the Republican nominee for debate prep — at least, what little debate prep Trump intends to do.
Manafort cleared out his office at Trump Tower less than two weeks ago, but Trump had reportedly been speaking more often with Lewandowski, now a CNN contributor, in the days and weeks leading up to the management shift.
Sources told ABC News that Lewandowski is now one of Trump’s first calls in the morning, and he’s had “his clearance restored,” allowing him to once again attend Trump’s rallies as a guest of the nominee — and boss around Trump’s junior campaign workers, “barking” at staff, like before he was fired. He’s even wearing the mysterious Trump “S” pin, an honor typically reserved for paid senior staff.
There’s no word on whether Lewandowski has returned to the Trump payroll. Questions to the Trump campaign remained unanswered at the time of this story’s publication, and Lewandowski seems to be operating in an unofficial capacity, even if he is returning to a larger role. Lewandowski is still a paid contributor to CNN, largely to defend Trump’s policies and positions on the network’s prime time shows.
If Lewandowski returns to the Trump campaign in an official capacity, that should raise questions as to whether CNN can keep him on staff.
Lewandowski’s return, even as a “volunteer” of sorts, was probably inevitable. Trump allegedly attributes his early success to Lewandowski’s efforts and is looking to repeat the commanding performance Lewandowski orchestrated for him in the primaries, though a Presidential election is a much different environment.
One of Lewandowski’s top jobs, according to Heat Street sources close to the campaign, will be preparing Donald Trump for the debates. Though Trump has yet to sign on the dotted line and agree to the three major Presidential debates to be held later in September and in early October, Trump’s advisers are trying to amass a team that can go head-to-head with Hillary Clinton’s already-on-the-ground debate operation.
Trump claims he wants to “wing it” when it comes to debate prep, telling reporters that, while his opponent is probably poring over national security reports and policy briefs, he’ll be sharpening his tongue. But even Lewandowski, whose strategy for the campaign has often been off-the-cuff, recognizes the need to at least have something in mind for Trump’s performance.
Lewandowski will, reportedly, team up (again, unofficially) with radio talk show host Laura Ingraham — playing the part of Hillary Clinton herself — former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, and media experts to craft his approach to the last (and arguably most important) aspect of the campaign’s final month. If things get more dire for the struggling Presidential candidate, Corey may be at the top of the list of official re-hires.
For now, at least, the formidable campaign manager is settling with returning to full membership in the Trump “secret society” and lending his campaign expertise (and his commanding presence) to the Trump operation, unpaid.
