The dispute unfolded in front of the Senate president’s wife and daughter and about a dozen surprised Republicans and operatives in the lobby of the president’s hotel. | Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo Trump hotel feud erupts between Lewandowski and Florida senators

MIAMI — It was supposed to be a friendly introduction between Republicans at the Trump International Hotel in Washington on Wednesday night, when the president’s former campaign manager and the Republican leader of the Florida Senate met.

But, witnesses say, the impromptu meeting between Corey Lewandowski, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano and Florida state Sen. Jeff Brandes unexpectedly morphed into a hostile debate over a question that encapsulates today’s GOP politics: How much credit should Donald Trump get for GOP successes?


The dispute — which ended with the hulking Brandes pointing at the slender Lewandowski as Galvano told his wife to hold his scarf — unfolded in front of the Senate president’s wife and daughter and about a dozen surprised Republicans and operatives in the lobby of the president’s hotel, where many gathered in a spirit of short-lived goodwill and unity following the funeral of President George H. W. Bush.

“We had a spirited conversation. Let’s just leave it at that,” Galvano, chuckling, told POLITICO the following day, confirming the dispute that Lewandowski denied ever took place. Lewandowski said reports of a disagreement were “not true” before he hung up the phone.

Three others who witnessed the contretemps and two others who had spoken to the senators also confirmed the surprising public disagreement and relayed the events to POLITICO. All described Lewandowski as needlessly confrontational and disrespectful to the senators who were caught off guard by the former campaign manager, now a reliable cable news defender and promoter of his former boss. The witnesses and confidants of the senators spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive moment.

With Trump laser focused on winning his second home state of Florida for the second time, the disagreement may foreshadow debates to come for Republicans in the nation's largest swing state heading into the 2020 cycle.

The dust-up began just after 10 p.m., when a mutual acquaintance brought Lewandowski over to meet Galvano in the crowded lobby, at which point Lewandowski made sure to lavish praise on Trump for campaigning in Florida so hard that it helped Ron DeSantis win the race for governor and propel Gov. Rick Scott to a U.S. Senate win.

“Donald Trump saved Florida, from the top to the bottom of the ticket,” Lewandowski said, according to one witness whose account was confirmed by a second.

Galvano, who was in charge of running GOP campaigns for the Florida Senate in the last election cycle, reportedly agreed that Trump deserved credit but added, said another witness, that the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee he led and the various GOP candidates and committees spent a record $44 million on their campaigns across the state, thereby driving GOP turnout that helped in the top-of-the-ticket races.

“There were lots of efforts put forward,” Galvano said, according to a witness. “Maybe it helped that FRSCC and our candidates knocked on 725,000 doors?”

“Nooo! I know Florida!” Lewandowski said, raising his voice, witnesses said. “It was Trump!”

“Then explain to me why we maintained Senate seats in districts Trump lost by double digits,” Galvano responded, according to witnesses.

At that, Lewandowski became more aggressive, witnesses said, prompting Brandes to stand up and wag his finger at Lewandowski. One witness saw Galvano instinctively clench his fist at his side; two others said they heard him make a polite request of his wife: “Hold my scarf.”

The situation, which lasted several minutes, quickly diffused as Lewandowski “stormed off,” said one.

Galvano, though he did not want to discuss the specifics of the confrontation, told POLITICO it didn’t get out of hand. “No one was coming to blows,” he said. “It was just a spirited conversation.”

One of the witnesses said the Trump hotel scene had a feeling of some of the conversations that unfold at the members’ only Governors Club in the shadow of the Florida Capitol.

“It’s like the Governors Club on steroids,” the source said, “except the drinks are more expensive.”

This isn’t Lewandowski’s first Florida-related run-in.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, he aggressively grabbed reporter Michelle Fields to keep her out of the then-candidate’s way at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla. Fields filed a complaint with police who charged him with simple battery, but the local prosecutor declined to press charges.