Donald Trump strongly defended his campaign manager Wednesday, saying that the reporter accusing Corey Lewandowski of simple battery is trying to take advantage of the spotlight created by the controversy.
During an interview on “Today” on NBC, Trump argued Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields was looking to capitalize on the media frenzy created by the case, while he rejected the suggestion that an apology from Lewandowski would have settled the dispute.
“I actually don’t think so, I think she would have pressed charges anyway, because I think she likes it — that’s my opinion, maybe I’m wrong,” Trump said. “I think if he called up, I think if he said he’s sorry, I think she would have used it against him. I’m not a believer in that.”
At CNN’s Republican town hall Tuesday night, Trump also defended Lewandowski against the charges and argued against calls to fire him.
“I would have loved to have fired him,” Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “It would have been much easier than talking to you about this all night long … I don’t want to ruin (Lewandowski’s) life.”
Trump attributed Lewandowski’s actions to security concerns.
“She had a pen in her hand, which Secret Service is not liking because they don’t know what it is, whether it’s a little bomb.”
Trump also forcefully rejected calls from his rivals to suspend or fire Lewandowski, saying Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” that “The other candidates, they said, ‘Oh, I should fire him.’ That’s because they’re weak, ineffective people. They want to be politically correct. I don’t want to be politically correct. I want to be correct.”
And on “Today,” Trump argued that Fields had exaggerated the encounter. “When you look at what happened, it was so minor, that he might not have even thought about it. Because to be honest with you, when you look at this, it was so minor.”
Fields defended herself on Twitter on Tuesday after Lewandowski was charged.
“Because my story never changed. Seriously, just stop lying,” Fields tweeted, responding to a claim Trump made arguing she had changed her story.
Lewandowski’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, who was also interviewed on “Today,” shrugged off the charge and cast doubt on Field’s version of events.
“If you read the police report, it doesn’t match what’s on the video,” he said. “There’s a lot of things I think are in dispute here.”