Return of Corey Lewandowski to Trump World Rattles Campaign Aides

Some of Donald Trump’s aides are not pleased that the twice-fired Corey Lewandowski—known for catering to the former president’s worst instincts—has been welcomed back into the fold, according to The New York Times.

Lewandowski, 50, was dumped in 2016 before managing to return to Trump World, then booted again in 2021 for allegedly making inappropriate sexual advances on a campaign donor. “He will no longer be associated with Trump World,” said a spokesperson after the 2021 incident. Yet, there he was last month, brought back as an adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign.

The hot-tempered confidant—accused of grabbing and shoving reporters and protestors and hip-checking an anti-Trump Republican—now assumes the role of “minister without a flock, with vague responsibilities and an uncertain portfolio,” the Times reported. He was making $20,000 a month as a Republican National Committee consultant beginning in April before rejoining the campaign, as part of a deal that required he volunteer.

When he did show up, two officials told the Times, Trump told staffers to “find something” for Lewandowski to do. When he started organizing conversations with campaign officials in swing states and at headquarters, some of them said they felt they were being watched and sensed pressure to keep the conversations secret from Trump’s co-campaign managers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the Times said.

Lewandowski was fired in 2016 after advising Trump to ignore calls to strike a more moderate tone in advance of that year’s Republican National Convention after his candidate spent the previous months demonizing Mexicans and Muslims. His return in August happened around the time Trump launched race-baiting attacks on his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, namely his false claim that she only recently identified as Black. Some campaign officials told the Times this was not a coincidence.

Lewandowski was also a member of Trump’s entourage at last week’s presidential debate in Philadelphia and at a memorial for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in Pennsylvania, alongside Laura Loomer, the far-right conspiracy theorist known for her racist, Islamophobic rants. Loomer’s involvement in the campaign has set off even greater alarm, echoing beyond Trump’s staff and into an all-out MAGA civil war as Republicans slammed her presence.

The Times noted, on the other hand, that some aides recognize Lewandowski’s staunch devotion to Trump’s worst grievance politics works well when campaigning to his base, making him a useful surrogate.

“We just don’t have time for political correctness,” he told Fox News earlier this month. “We literally have a woman and an administration that is destroying this country.”