With the 2024 presidential election approaching, former President Donald Trump appears to be emulating his successful 2016 campaign by reintroducing Corey Lewandowski as an advisor.
Lewandowski, who was Trump’s initial campaign manager in 2016, was dismissed due to controversial behavior and subsequently became a commentator for One America News (OAN).
On Thursday, Trump made a surprising announcement, revealing the return of Lewandowski and several former staff members to his campaign team.
🚨📰 BREAKING: Trump hires 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski after pressure from @NickJFuentes and Groyper War 2 pic.twitter.com/BU9sH2qh09
— AF Hasbara 🇺🇸 (@afhasbara) August 15, 2024
This decision comes as Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be gaining ground in the polls.
Some Trump campaign insiders suggest that this move might indicate a potential reshuffling within the team. Trump has described Lewandowski as his “personal envoy.”
“Trump 2024 can be the best and most successful Trump of all: he recalls the hunger, swagger, underdog, underestimated, joy on the job ethos of 2016, coupled with a four-year presidential record of prosperity and security, and overlaid with the accoutrements of a well-funded, organized, professionalized campaign structure that presents policy contrasts with Kamala,” former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway told the Daily Mail.
Conway, who notably led Trump’s 2016 campaign as the first woman to successfully head a presidential campaign, later served as an advisor throughout his presidency.
She praised Trump’s new hires, veterans of his previous campaigns, and suggested that their return could enhance Trump’s performance, describing the move as a “superstitious” effort to reunite the team.
“The campaign has invested in the fundamentals (ground game, voter registration and turnout, polling, messaging, digital, fundraising’ as well as the ‘non-sexy parts of politics’ including lawsuits, canvassing and ‘election integrity,” Conway said.
Conway stated that the aim is for Trump to adopt the “energy of an insurgent and the results of an incumbent.”
A Trump campaign insider indicated that this change does not represent a “shakeup” that would result in the dismissal of campaign heads Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.
The insider said Lewandowski would be “advising senior leadership as we march to victory.”
“He’s going to be part of that team that reports to Susie and Chris. The senior leadership remains unchanged,” the official said of Lewandowski.
Trump was asked whether reintroducing Lewandowski to his campaign indicated a change in strategy.
“No, I think it’s a sign of, we want to close it out,” the former president said.
“We had, we have great people. Susie is fantastic, as you know, and Chris is fantastic. They’re leading it. Corey Lewandowski is coming in. He’ll be, you know, personal envoy, or he’ll be at some at some level,” Trump added.
“They’re doing a great job,” the former president said of LaCivita and Wiles.
In 2016, Trump fired Lewandowski after he was accused of assaulting a reporter. Lewandowski briefly became a commentator for OAN and remained an advisor to the former president, having flown with him on his plane to the debate in Atlanta, Georgia, against President Joe Biden.
An official within the Trump campaign said the new hires were “just an addition.”
