Trump Campaign Manager Accused of Roughing Up Female Reporter from Conservative Breitbart
Donald Trump’s presidential bid again appears to being putting the bully in bully pulpit. This time Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowsky, is accused of forcibly yanking female reporter Michelle Fields out of the way and nearly knocking her to the floor after Trump’s Tuesday night press conference.
A witness told Politico the Breitbart reporter was attempting to ask Trump a question as he exited. The Secret Service was starting to clear a path when Lewandowsky grabbed Fields’ arm, “moving her out of the way and nearly bringing her down to the ground.” The witness described Fields as “clearly roughed up by the move.”
No corroborating video of the incident description has yet surfaced. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Breitbart News CEO and President Larry Solov released a statement about the incident:
It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and make 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.
Field’s boyfriend, Jamie Weinstein of The Daily Caller, also commented:
Trump always surrounds himself w thugs. Tonight thug Corey Lewandowski tried to pull my gf @MichelleFields to ground when she asked tough q
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) March 9, 2016
Say what you will abt Bush or even Obama. They would never tolerate this type of thuggery toward women https://t.co/EfbQH6tFM7
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) March 9, 2016
As noted by Politico, the Trump campaign has seen several physical run-ins with reporters and protesters in recent months. Most notably, at a rally in Virginia, a Time photographer was placed in a chokehold and slammed into table by Secret Service staffer after attempting to leave the press pen to photograph protesters. (See GIF below) That incident is now being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. According to Politico, Trump’s taken to having members of his private security team in street clothes seeking out potential protesters and assisting in their “preemptive removal.”
Now, this latest altercation with reporter Fields. The Washington Post puts the blame squarely on the candidate, saying it “might not have featured Trump as the main offender but was clearly a result of the culture he has created in his campaign.” The irony? “Breitbart,” according to the Post, “has been a major cheerleader for the billionaire real estate mogul.”