Corey Lewandowski: Donald Trump Campaign Roughed Up Reporter?
Corey Lewandowski, a Donald Trump campaign manager, has been accused of roughing up a female Breitbart News reporter. Michelle Fields claims that a man who was identified as Lewandowski by Washington Post reporter Ben Terris grabbed her arm when she tried to ask the Republican frontrunner a question.
No comment about the alleged physical ushering away of the Breitbart News report has yet been offered by the Donald Trump campaign. Corey Lewandowski is accused of manhandling Michelle Fields during after a stump speech in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday night, Huffington Post reports.
Lewandowski allegedly grabbed Fields’ arm and forcibly moved her away from Donald Trump as he was attempting to leave at the end of a press conference. A Politico report suggests that the campaign manager “nearly” brought the Breitbart News report “down to the ground” during the incident.
Top Trump aide allegedly strong-arms Breitbart reporter after presserhttps://t.co/6Gxv4vsrp7pic.twitter.com/AkA8hCwjEw
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) March 9, 2016
Larry Solov, the CEO for Breitbart News, had this to say about the Corey Lewandowski Michelle Fields alleged encounter.
“It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and made physical contact with our reporter. What Michelle has told us directly is that someone ‘grabbed her arm’ and while she did not see who it was, Ben Terris of The Washington Post told her that it was Corey Lewandowski. If that’s the case, Corey owes Michelle an immediate apology.”
Ben Terris stated during an interview with the Huffington Post that he saw the Donald Trump campaign manager grab Fields, but declined the opportunity to comment further about the incident. Jaime Weinstein, a senior editor for the Daily Caller, and also the boyfriend of the female reporter, also claims to have seen Lewandowski grab Fields. Weinstein deemed the Trump staff a “thug.”
The Huffington Post report claims that the Donald Trump campaign has been “hostile” towards the news media. The report also alleges that some reporters have been either removed or barred from attending campaign events. Trump has most likely been featured in more TV interviews than any other candidate and often hosts lengthy press conferences while on the campaign trail.
The Huffington Post had previously vowed to only cover the Donald Trump campaign in its entertainment section and deemed the early months of the GOP frontrunner’s election bid a “sideshow.” The media outlet has more recently called the rise of Trump an “ugly and dangerous force in American politics.”
Donald Trump’s campaign manager roughed up a female reporter when she asked a hard question: https://t.co/N1nj0vbbr6 pic.twitter.com/k5Lv1Cm6t5
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) March 9, 2016
Some journalists have claimed that Corey Lewandowski is adversarial with the press and uses his position of power in the campaign to herd them away from Trump. Last fall, he was accused of threatening to “blacklist” Noah Gray, a reporter for CNN, after the journalist reportedly left the media bullpen to investigate a possible incident in the crowd.
“Tell Noah, get back in the pen or he’s f*****g blacklisted,” Lewandowski allegedly told Donald Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks, a Washington Post report states. “Inside the pen, or I will pull your credentials. Media goes in the pen,” the campaign manager is accused of saying.
Donald Trump and the remaining candidates in the Republican field are gearing up for another debate this evening. Next Tuesday, the winner-take-all state primaries begin. Speculation that the GOP contest will be down to a 3-man race by the end of the week have been dashed by Marco Rubio.
The candidate often referred to as the Republican establishment said he is not concerned about losing his home state of Florida and will not be pulling out of the race anytime soon. Governor John Kasich also believes he can win his home state of Ohio and isn’t suspending his campaign, despite having an extremely low number of delegates.
What do you think about the claims that Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski roughed up Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields?
[Photo by AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall]
