Donald Trump has dismissed controversial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, a New Hampshire operative who oversaw the businessman’s rise from improbable candidate to presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“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,” campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement Monday. “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”
The news of Lewandowski’s departure caught many by surprise in New Hampshire, where Trump scored his first primary win.
“Corey is a personal friend of many of us, and we all thought he was doing a great job,” said Republican Rep. Al Baldasaro, who became a Trump supporter after talking with Lewandowski. It’s “a loss to the campaign,” he said.
Lewandowski is one of Trump’s New Hampshire delegates and was elected to lead the state delegation to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July. His departure as Trump’s campaign manager does not affect his role as delegation chairman, according to state party rules, unless he decides to step down.
Trump’s poll numbers continue to slip, and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is vastly outspending the businessman on television ads in key battleground states, according to an analysis from NBC News. A reported rift had formed in Trump’s campaign between Lewandowski and newer staff brought in to refocus the campaign toward the general election.
Lewandowski, who had no prior national campaign experience, brought a less conventional style to the Trump campaign during the nominating contests.
The Windham resident has worked for Trump since January 2015, landing the high-paying position after one meeting in New York City. In New Hampshire, as in other states, Lewandowski was a near constant presence on the campaign trail, standing nearby Trump while the candidate greeted people backstage before his rallies.
Lewandowski sometimes stirred controversy, most notably when a Breitbart reporter accused Lewandowski of forcibly yanking her away from Trump while she asked a question. The incident was caught on camera, and Lewandowski said on Twitter he had never touched reporter Michelle Fields. Lewandowski was arrested, but in April, the Palm Beach County state attorney in Florida said Lewandowski would not be prosecuted on a battery charge.
As questions about Lewandowski mounted, Trump brought in Paul Manafort, a veteran Republican operative. Relations between those loyal to Lewandowski versus those in the Manafort camp frayed, and included both public and private squabbles.
Minutes after news of Lewandowski’s departure was announced, Trump aide Michael Caputo tweeted, “Ding dong the witch is dead!” and included a link to the song from the film The Wizard of Oz.
Lewandowski did not respond to a Monitor request for comment, and his cell phone mailbox was full Monday.
Reached by the Associated Press on Monday, Lewandowski deflected any criticism of his approach.
“Paul Manafort has been in operational control of the campaign since April 7. That’s a fact,” Lewandowski said, declining to elaborate on his dismissal.
Lewandowski has previously managed campaigns in New Hampshire, heading up Bob Smith’s 2002 U.S. Senate run. He joined the Americans for Prosperity as East Coast regional director in 2008.
Trump decisively won the New Hampshire primary, trouncing his Republican rivals by double digits. However, his ground game and campaign infrastructure in New Hampshire paled in comparison to the large, well-organized operations built up by the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns. Trump had about 12 paid staff in New Hampshire toward the end of the primary season and his campaign’s primary mode of communication with voters was phone banking.
State Rep. Fred Doucette, who was co-chairman of Trump’s New Hampshire campaign, praised Lewandowski, saying his departure is a surprising loss. Doucette, of Salem, said supporters remain united in the goal to elect Trump.
“Apparently the campaign is moving into a new phase, preparing for the general,” he said. “The rest of the campaign – short Corey – is unified and ready to get the job done and get Mr. Trump residing in 1600 Pennsylvania.”
(Ella Nilsen and the Associated Press contributed to this story.)