Donald Trump won't fire campaign manager charged with battery: 'I don't discard people'
Donald Trump vowed to stand by his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who was charged with simple battery on Tuesday, saying he doesn't "discard people."
Trump made the comments hours after Lewandowski was charged with simple battery for allegedly grabbing a female reporter's arm following a news conference on March 8 at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida.
"Corey's a fine person," Trump told reporters gathered on his private plane in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he was set to host a campaign rally later in the day. "I looked at the tape ... and those tapes to me are very conclusive. A lot of people are looking and saying, 'How can anybody be charged."
You May Also Like
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
In the interview, Trump also said the woman Lewandowski allegedly grabbed, former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields, grabbed at Trump.
"She was actually, if you look at her .... she's grabbing at me and he's acting as an intermediary and trying to block her from doing that," Trump said. "She was running up and grabbing and asking questions," Trump added.
Trump also suggested in his statements from his plane that Fields, who tweeted an image of bruises on her arm from the incident, was lying about where the bruises came from.
"How do you know those bruises weren't there before," Trump said in response to a reporter's question. "Wouldn't you think that you would have yelled out a scream or something if she has bruises on her arm?"
Other campaigns condemned Trump for standing by Lewandowski after the arrest.
Former presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina, who endorsed Ted Cruz, said the incident reflects poorly on Trump.
"Tone is set at the top," Fiorina told reporters during a Cruz campaign stop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich didn't mince words on how he would handle Lewandowski's arrest.
"The report is that he grabbed somebody, and that's frankly totally and completely inappropriate," Kasich said.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"If it was me, if I was in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich added.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Topics Donald Trump Elections Politics
Emily Cahn is a political reporter at Mashable. Prior to Mashable, Cahn spent nearly four years at Roll Call, where she covered House and Senate races and congressional shenanigans. She has also been a copy editor at The Washington Post, and interned at The Hill, the Houston Chronicle and CBS News when she was a student at The George Washington University. Aside from being a political junkie, Cahn loves dogs and experimenting with cooking. Follow her on Twitter @CahnEmily, where she posts pictures of her family's two misbehaved poodles.
