Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks announced Lewandowski’s departure: “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future”.
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Mr Lewandowski frequently dismissed the notion that Mr Trump needed to hire more experienced political hands, spend on polling and sophisticated data operations, and moderate his rhetoric as he moved towards the general election.
Lewandowski had never led a national campaign before Trump’s, and sometimes his style put him at odds with the media.
The tweet was accompanied with an iconic picture of the Wicked Witch of the East’s slippers under Dorothy’s house, and a Youtube clip to the song from the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”. The New York Times reports that the move “was intended as part of a larger shift toward the final sprint of the race”, noting that he had no political experience prior to becoming Trump’s campaign manager.
Republicans have long questioned the direction of the Trump campaign, and reports have emerged of fundraising troubles and staff in-fighting.
Lewandowski will still play a role at the convention in Cleveland in July where Trump will formally claim the nomination.
The two people, a campaign staffer and a person in regular contact with Trump aides, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by Trump to discuss the firing.
Ivanka sat down with her father on Sunday and convinced him to let Lewandowski go – even offering an ultimatum of sorts about her own continued involvement with the campaign, according to sources with knowledge of this conversation. He insisted he and Manafort worked together “amazingly well” and called the people he worked with on the campaign his friends.
Most prominent among them is Paul Manafort, an adviser to several Republican presidential campaigns, including those of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. I continue to believe Donald Trump must be elected President in November. During his time as campaign manager, Lewandowski was known for his combative relationship with the press, and was accused of forcibly grabbing a former Breitbart reporter during a March campaign event.
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in an “On The Record” interview Monday night he thought the firing of Lewandowski was a “new direction” for the Trump campaign. Manafort is now fully in charge of the campaign, right under Trump. Many suspect he might write a book, but his former attorney said it’s unclear what’s in his non-disclosure agreement with Trump, if indeed he has one.
