Al Drago/AP
Donald Trump fired his longtime campaign manager Corey Lewandowski this morning, and political Twitter had very little sympathy for the ousted operative. Lewandowski, who is known to be abrasive and to have contentious relations with the media, has long been a controversial presence on Trump’s campaign. His manhandling of reporter Michelle Fields during a campaign event in March drew an outcry and calls for his firing. More recently, he has feuded with campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was brought in to professionalize the Trump operation. He appears to have lost his battle for supremacy against Manafort and his firing was announced at prime time (10 a.m. Monday morning) for the chattering classes to notice.
A member of Trump’s own staff jumped in to celebrate. Here’s the campaign’s senior adviser and head of Trump’s New York operation:
Ding dong the witch is dead! https://t.co/pSqQwmAGz1 pic.twitter.com/5dE7GMeEK6
— Michael Caputo (@MichaelRCaputo) June 20, 2016
Also reveling in the news was Michelle Fields, who wound up getting fired from Breitbart News over the incident, when she protested the conservative outlet seeming to take Lewandowski’s side.
Hey @CLewandowski_ I hear @BreitbartNews is hiring https://t.co/YKOZqRdi0p
— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) June 20, 2016
Rick Wilson, a top GOP consultant who has long been a top Trump critic couldn’t resist either.
But it wasn’t all celebration. Fellow GOP operatives took to Twitter to point out just how ill-timed the move was, and how Lewandowski’s firing might be anything but calming for the Trump campaign. Ryan Williams, a former spokesman for Mitt Romney, pointed out that Trump still needs Lewandowski’s support, at least for another month.
According to NHGOP rules, Trump campaign cannot remove Corey as NH delegation chair to the convention. Can replace him only if he resigns.
— Ryan Williams (@RyanGOP) June 20, 2016
