President Trump on Thursday spoke glowingly about the idea of a Senate run by his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and sounded quite like a TV critic in the process.
Trump in a New Hampshire radio interview said that Lewandowski would be "fantastic" in the Senate, with these comments coming amid reports of Republican opposition to his potential bid. Were Lewandowski to run in 2020, he would be going up against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
"He's got great energy," Trump said of Lewandowski, who served as his campaign manager until June 2016. "He's terrific on television, you've seen. He's a really good guy. I like him a lot. I like him. I like his family. I like everything about him."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump stopped short of offering an official endorsement for Lewandowski, who during the 2016 campaign was charged with simple battery after a Breitbart reporter accused him of forcefully grabbing her; the charges were later dropped. Trump on Thursday said he's unsure if Lewandowski has made the decision to run, but he argued that he'd be a "great senator" and "tough to beat."
Lewandowski's potential Senate campaign, though, is drawing some serious concern from Republicans in New Hampshire, who strongly disagree with Trump's assessment that he'd give Shaheen a tough fight. "It makes me extremely nervous," a Republican adviser told The Daily Beast recently, with former New Hampshire Attorney General Tom Rath also saying of Lewandowski, "I think his strongest supporter is the person who he looks at in the mirror."
Ahead of a Trump rally in New Hampshire, Politico reports that Republicans in the state fear the president will tout Lewandowski's possible Senate run, with "the state GOP establishment in near open revolt" and Gov. Chris Sununu (R) having "relayed concerns" about Lewandowski to the party's leadership. But based on Trump's comments, it sounds like for Lewandowski, an official endorsement could be just one Fox News appearance away.
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
