Lending a new dimension to the phrase “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”, recently fired Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has joined CNN as a political commentator.
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A network spokeswoman, Barbara Levin, confirmed the hiring but offered no other details on Thursday.
Because Lewandowski’s visibility is just one of a couple of aspects of this hiring that should bother anyone who cares about such quaint notions as journalistic integrity, or does not believe in rewarding bad behavior with new jobs and, for CNN, possibly increased ratings.
Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. In his first appearance as a CNN commentator, anchor Erin Burnett asked about the clause’s existence, though he did not answer directly.
Throw all of that on top of the constant media drumbeat about how Trump hates minorities, Muslims, women and so on, and many in the GOP can not be blamed for believing the light at the end of the tunnel is actually a train, with Hillary at the throttle. During another Trump rally, Lewandowski threatened Grey that he would be blacklisted from all Trump rallies if he didn’t stay in the “press pen” (an area reserved for the press during Trump rallies). He told Bash that he didn’t know why he was let go, but Trump’s children are reportedly at least partially responsible for the decision.
In the interest of journalism, Burnett started out by asking Lewandowski whether he’d signed a non-disclosure agreement with Trump, an issue that this blog highlighted yesterday.
As The Daily Dot reported, all those associated with the Trump campaign signed a non-disparagement agreement barring them from talking about the work they did with the candidate and also forbidding them from disparaging the billionaire, his family or his businesses. He became infamous after he grabbed a Breitbart reporter, which resulted in a now-dropped battery charge, and he has been accused of bullying and lying to reporters, including those at CNN. “I’m not watching it much anymore”.
Clearly, he will be a valuable asset to CNN because of his unique insight into the inner workings of the Trump campaign, which has already shattered all the usual models of presidential competition.
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Those considerations stand apart, of course, from another set of considerations: That Lewandowski, with a big assist from his boss, slimed someone who dared to criticize Trump – and comes away with the reward of a CNN contributor gig.
