After supporting Donald J. Trump’s impulsive behavior in 2016, Corey Lewandowski was let go by his campaign.
Before long, he was back in Mr. Trump’s inner circle.
Mr. Lewandowski was once again kicked out of the Trump orbit in 2021 on charges that he had made inappropriate approaches against a Republican contributor.
Now he’s back again, which has baffled some of Mr. Trump’s supporters.
The notoriously unstable Mr. Lewandowski has been appointed as an advisor to the campaign. However, his portfolio is unclear and his duties are broad, making him feel like a pastor without a congregation.
People close to the Trump family claim that Mr. Lewandowski’s impulsiveness, misogyny, and well-documented rage make him an obvious target for accusations that he may be a conduit for Mr. Trump’s own irresponsibility.
The only kind of permanent exile, though, in Trump’s America, is the one that one imposes on themselves. Even after losing Mr. Trump’s confidence, Mr. Lewandowski has managed to win him back time and time again.
Mr. Lewandowski, who will be 51 years old on Wednesday, will have limited direct influence on staff matters due to his lack of budgetary authority and the fact that no one reports to him. His aides are worried that his word carries an implied endorsement from the former president, leading them to consider him as a possible agent of disruption.
Other Trump campaign associates, however, claimed that Mr. Lewandowski brought something special to the table.
Mr. Trump frequently takes solace in Mr. Lewandowski’s impulsive behavior and crude jokes. Others have speculated that the former president, who is frustrated that so few of his 2016 campaign staff are still involved, can find comfort in his presence alone.
Speaking about Mr. Lewandowski, Mr. Trump stated, “I just like him,” in an interview with New York magazine. I think Corey is interesting.
Conservative television hosts also find Mr. Lewandowski to be an effective stand-in. Mr. Trump sees the position as crucial, but top campaign officials Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita are hesitant to take it on. His intense leadership style provides reassurance to Trump’s loyal constituency, which is seeking confirmation of this.
At a Fox News interview earlier this month, Mr. Lewandowski stated, “We just don’t have time for political correctness” in response to a question regarding the charges leveled at Mr. Trump over his personal assaults on Vice President Kamala Harris and his gesticulating style during campaign rallies.
“This country is being destroyed by a woman and her administration. If the current administration continues in the same vein as the Biden-Harris administration, we can expect another 20 million illegal immigrants to flood into our country,” Mr. Lewandowski warned. The price of gas will likely rise by 80 cents a gallon. The electricity bills will be too high for us to pay. Every single American will feel the pinch as food prices spiral out of hand.
Unlike his June appearance at Mr. Trump’s debate, when he was more prominently featured, Mr. Lewandowski stayed out of the spotlight last week in the Philadelphia debate, when he was a member of Mr. Trump’s entourage. He appeared to have encouraged the media frenzy that surrounded him at the time.
On the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, he went to a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with the former president, although he largely remained about with a group of advisors and watched.
Conversations with campaign leaders in states that are still in the race and with campaign aides in and around the West Palm Beach, Florida, headquarters have taken up the majority of Mr. Lewandowski’s time since his return to the campaign.
Some on the team believe that in the last 60 days of the race, Mr. Lewandowski has just been getting a feel for the rhythms of a 22-month-long campaign. On the other hand, several people claimed to have felt observed, and others said they felt obligated to keep quiet about what they discussed with Mr. Lewandowski from Ms. Wiles and Mr. LaCivita.
The Republican National Committee had been paying him roughly $20,000 per month since April for his consulting services, but party officials have stated that this practice was recently terminated. As a condition of his return to the campaign, Mr. Lewandowski agreed to volunteer his time.
An interview with Mr. Lewandowski was requested for this piece, but he declined. No reaction was offered by a Trump campaign spokesman.
Two persons familiar with the matter said that when Mr. Lewandowski came back to the campaign in August, Mr. Trump told his staff to “find something” to do for him. This occurred at the same time that Mr. Trump began openly racially baiting Ms. Harris in an effort to undermine her. The reappearance of Mr. Trump’s co-author from 2017’s “Let Trump Be Trump” coincided, according to some campaign insiders, with his public rejection of demands for greater self-discipline.
“Whenever Trump is facing difficulties, he goes back to what has worked for him in the past, which is ‘letting Trump be Trump’ and the glory days of 2016,” stated Tim Miller, a Republican who is opposed to Trump. “However, Corey’s chances of either becoming the campaign’s leader or being involved in another incident that forces him out of it are equal.”
When Mr. Miller was arguing against Mr. Trump to reporters during a 2016 presidential primary debate, Mr. Lewandowski hip-checked him, leading to Mr. Miller’s personal altercation with Mr. Lewandowski.
Laura Loomer, a divisive far-right activist renowned for her constant flow of sexist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-Muslim, and occasionally antisemitic social media posts and public antics, has joined Mr. Lewandowski in Mr. Trump’s inner circle of informal advisers.
On many campaign trips, Mr. Trump has been accompanied by both Mr. Lewandowski and Ms. Loomer.
Political candidates have always relied on trusted advisors during campaigns to ease the burden of intense scrutiny and pressure. Like Obama’s longtime buddy Marty Nesbitt, Senator Lindsey Graham was a comforting presence for John McCain, the Republican candidate for president in 2008.
However, this friend role has hardly been filled by someone who could cause such a stir.
As he sat in a room with President Trump and his two oldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., Corey Lewandowski was sacked from his position as campaign manager in 2016. Mr. Lewandowski had previously encouraged Mr. Trump to reject demands that he tone down his rhetoric in the run-up to the Republican National Convention. In the aftermath of the Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub murder, Mr. Trump’s revived plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States drew fresh condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats, and he was already having trouble raising money from established contributors.
At one point, Mr. Lewandowski was himself a source of controversy; he was accused of misdemeanor violence for allegedly grabbing a reporter as she approached Mr. Trump at an event, a charge that was subsequently dismissed.
Following Mr. Trump’s victory, Mr. Lewandowski established a lobbying firm in Washington and served as an informal advisor to the president for several years.
On September 29, 2021, however, he was expelled once more after a Trump supporter accused him of making inappropriate approaches at an event, leading to the loss of his leadership position at a super PAC that supported Trump. Ultimately, prosecutors in Nevada were able to convince Mr. Lewandowski to accept a plea offer.
Trump World has severed all ties with him, according to the statement.
He returned formally nearly three years later.
