So, over the weekend, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was caught grabbing the shirt collar of a protestor at a campaign event:
Donald Trump's campaign manager appeared to grab a protester by his collar during a rally Saturday in an incident captured on video.Multiple videos, including CNN's footage, show campaign manager Corey Lewandowski reaching for the man's collar as a member of Trump's security detail also grabs him from behind.
"Corey Lewandowski was speaking with a protester at today's rally in Tucson, Arizona when the individual he was speaking with was pulled from behind by the man to Lewandowski's left," Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in response to a CNN inquiry, referring to a member of Trump's private security detail.
"The video clearly shows the protester reacting to the man who pulled him, not to Mr. Lewandowski," Hicks said, adding that Trump "does not condone violence at his rallies, which are private events paid for by the campaign."
Trump on Sunday called Lewandowski's involvement in ejecting protesters "spirited."
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Sunday campaign officials should avoid "getting involved in confrontations."
"Getting involved is not the answer. I think you leave these things up to the professionals. You've got professional police; you've got Secret Service," Priebus told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."
Here is Donald Trump's campaign manager in the Tucson crowd grabbing the collar of a protester. pic.twitter.com/JZ9RntWlHY
— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) March 19, 2016
Lewandowski was involved in another physical altercation with Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields at the conclusion of his press conference in Jupiter, Florida earlier this month. Fields later filed misdemeanor battery charges against Lewandowski, who reportedly left her bruised when he grabbed her arm while trying to ask the billionaire magnate about affirmative action. The fallout between the Trump and Breitbart camps was especially nasty, that culminated in staff writers, editors, and their spokesman, resigning from the news organization over what they saw as a lackluster defense of Fields. They also mentioned how the news site had more or less become a mouthpiece for the Trump campaign. Fields would also resign in protest over her treatment by her employer after the incident.
When Trump won big during the March 15 primary contests, Lewandowski was featured prominently on stage as the billionaire magnate spoke to his supporters. As Slate aptly noted, given the nature of what had occurred involving Lewandwoski in the days prior to his big March 15 election night win (Trump knocked Rubio out of the running), his position on that stage was meant to send only one message: we can get away with it.
Corey, good job, Corey," Donald Trump said on Tuesday during his latest election night "press conference," during which no questions were taken. He was talking to his trusty campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. "Good job."Lewandowski doesn't usually stand by Trump's side during election night addresses. He's typically offstage, either watching or bossing people around. But there he was tonight, following Trump's wins in Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina, standing immediately to his candidate’s right.
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What were Lewandowski and Trump doing on stage together, in front of all those cameras, laughing it up? They were sending a message: We can get away with it. It was grotesque.
Indeed, it was.
UPDATE: Some have commented that the man in the red and black jumpsuit was the person who grabbed the protestor. It appears that both the man and Lewandowski grabbed the protestor by his shirt collar. While were on th subject, the other person is also a member of Trump's security team, not some bystander at the event.