Controversial campaign manager reportedly surprised by news which comes as Trump faces increasing struggles in pivoting towards general election

Donald Trump has parted ways with his controversial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.



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Hope Hicks, the campaign’s spokeswoman, said in a statement on Monday: “The Donald J Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign.”

She added: “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”

The news came as a surprise to Lewandowski when Trump informed him this morning in Trump Tower, a source told the Guardian.

Lewandowski’s departure comes as Trump’s campaign is increasingly struggling in its attempt to pivot towards the general election. Since becoming the Republican party’s presumptive nominee in early May, Trump has collapsed in the polls and faced increasing questions about his campaign organization.

Trump has made a series of controversial remarks including stating that the Mexican heritage of Gonzalo Curiel, a federal judge hearing a lawsuit against the presumptive nominee, meant that Curiel was biased, and doubled down on his calls for a ban on Muslims entering the country, in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando. Trump even suggested that the American Muslim community knew in advance about terrorist attacks and did not say anything.

The result is that even many Republican lawmakers who have endorsed Trump have now distanced themselves from him. John Cornyn, the No2 Republican in the Senate, said he would not discuss Trump until after the election and House speaker Paul Ryan, the party’s most senior elected official, has refused to condemn those plotting a convention coup against the presumptive nominee.

Lewandowski, who rose to power last year after beating veteran strategist Roger Stone to be Trump’s top aide, seemingly lost his own power struggle with chief strategist Paul Manafort, who was brought in by Trump several months ago. Lewandowski and Manafort struggled for control for months, but had apparently reached equilibrium in recent weeks. That has seemingly not survived Trump’s recent political woes.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Lewandowski said: “Paul Manafort has been in operational control of the campaign since 7 April. That’s a fact.”

One campaign source suggested that the final straw for Lewandowski was “some conflict between him and Hope Hicks that Ivanka [Trump] didn’t like”. Lewandowski and Hicks reportedly engaged in a public screaming match in midtown Manhattan last month. The two had long been considered close and constantly accompanied Trump on the campaign trail.



One source familiar with the campaign said Lewandowski had clashed with Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, and was even trying to plant negative stories about Trump’s son-in-law in the press.

The strain showed when Michael Caputo, a high-ranking Trump staffer who had long been critical of Lewandowski, tweeted: “Ding dong the witch is dead.”

Later Monday afternoon, Caputo resigned from the campaign over the tweet, expressing his regret for “too exuberant a reaction to this personnel move”.



In a live interview with CNN on Monday afternoon that lasted for nearly half an hour, Lewandowski stood steadfastly by his candidate, insisting he had “no regrets” and that all was well with the campaign. Lewandowski, who said Trump had fired him with “a nice conversation”, only grudgingly admitted to having been escorted out of Trump Tower by security.

Although he praised Manafort in the interview, Lewandowski only complimented Kushner “for maintaining the Facebook page”.

Lewandowski added he was still loyal to Trump and insisted: “If Donald Trump wins that’s good for Corey Lewandowski and that’s good for this country.”

Lewandowski did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.

On Monday morning, the news came as a surprise to many in the Trump campaign. One high-ranking source told the Guardian: “I have no idea what’s going on.” Others said the news had not been shared internally and they were learning of the shakeup through the media.

A veteran of more than 40 years in Republican politics, the 67-year-old Manafort is a long-time lobbyist who represented controversial foreign clients like ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

He is a former business partner of Stone, who left the campaign last year after repeatedly clashing with Lewandowski. Manafort, who is not being paid by Trump, was brought onboard in March, to help with delegate selection. He quickly expanded his portfolio to rival Lewandowski as the most powerful figure on the campaign.

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Lewandowski is also the chair of New Hampshire’s delegation to the national convention and has pledged to vote for Trump in Cleveland. Long known as a rough-edged political operative, the Lowell, Massachusetts native made no secret of his disdain for the Republican establishment and accompanied Trump everywhere. He even served as a bodyguard at times, wading into crowds to grab protesters and facing misdemeanor criminal charges over allegedly manhandling a reporter. Prosecutors declined to press charges.

Lewandowski’s unconventional vision, “letting Trump be Trump”, helped the New York real estate developer win an unlikely victory in the Republican primaries against more than a dozen candidates. Despite a lack of traditional campaign organization, a mix of big rallies and constant appearances on cable news helped Trump defeat what had been described as the strongest field in Republican history.