Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, reportedly grabbed the arm of Breitbart.com reporter Michelle Fields as she attempted to ask Trump a question at the end of a press conference.
Advertisement
The altercation occurred Tuesday night following Trump’s press conference in Florida after Fields tried to ask Trump a question about his past criticism of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“As security parted the masses to give him passage out of the chandelier-lit ballroom, Michelle Fields, a young reporter for Trump-friendly Breitbart News, pressed forward to ask the GOP front-runner a question”.
Fields wrote that she did not see “who aggressively tried to pull me to the ground”, but the Washington Post’s Ben Terris immediately told her it was Lewandowski. Citing sources, Grove says Lewandowski explained to Breitbart Washington political editor Matthew Boyle “that he and Fields had never met before and that he didn’t recognize her as a Breitbart reporter, instead mistaking her for an adversarial member of the mainstream media”. There was no apology offered.
The campaign manager for Donald Trump is under fire for getting rough with a female reporter.
The Secret Service had begun to clear a path for the candidate, witnesses and Field said, when Lewandowski grabbed Fields’ arm, which multiple reporters on the scene claimed almost brought her to the ground.
“What made this especially jarring is that there was no hint Trump was done taking questions”, she wrote.
Breitbart said in a statement it released that it was “obviously unacceptable” for someone to have made physical contact with the reporter.
Countless other incidents have been documented of Trump supporters physically or verbally accosting protesters at rallies.
Call it another wild mood swing from an erratic campaign that appears to be going for a more composed image (as Trump pivots toward the general election) but is simply incapable of complete self-control.
When Breitbart’s PR consultant, Kurt Bardella, learned of the night’s events, he seemed more concerned with Weinstein’s juvenile tweeting than Lewandowski’s assault.
Two days after witnesses saw reporter Michelle Fields being pushed down at a Donald Trump event, the Breitbart reporter is speaking out about the incident. “If that’s the case, Corey owes Michelle an immediate apology”, Solov said. “Fields stumbled. Finger-shaped bruises formed on her arm”.
Perhaps Lewandowski was a little too jacked-up one of the dozen Red Bulls he’s said to consume daily, or perhaps he was just in it “with both feet and both hands” in an effort to protect Trump from what he deemed to be an overly aggressive reporter.
Advertisement
Trump’s team has not yet responded to a request for comment from Mashable. Trump’s “press conferences” have become closer to pep rallies, with most of the seats reserved for guests.
