Evangelical Leader Calls on Donald Trump to Fire Campaign Manager
Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign manager was charged with simple assault by police in Jupiter, Florida, sparking a quick response from one evangelical faith leader.
Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, appeared on his own at the Jupiter police office to sign his notice to appear. The complaint was filed by former Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields, who says he assaulted her at a March 8 campaign event at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, urged the GOP front-runner to fire campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Those calls were quickly echoed by Republican rival U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz as well as others.
Mahoney said, after reviewing the police report, it is clear that at the very least Mr. Lewandowski aggressively grabbed Ms. Fields’ arm and was not truthful about his actions. Mahoney’s full statement was:
“The evangelical community is far more committed to integrity, truthfulness, justice and treating everyone with dignity and respect than it is in just making America great again. Donald Trump needs to understand if he wants to ‘Make America Great Again,’ he needs to embrace the values that evangelicals cherish and embrace. Those values are not rooted in political slogans but in the eternal teachings of the Scriptures and of Christ.
“Mr. Trump’s response to the charges filed against Mr. Lewandoski stand in stark contradiction to those timeless values. It is now clear from recently released information that Mr. Lewandoski lied when he said he never grabbed the arm of Ms. Fields, and it also shows a pattern from this campaign of a profound disrespect for the integrity of women. That is certainly not something evangelicals are comfortable with or support. If Mr. Trump wants the support of evangelicals across the nation, a positive step would be to release Corey Lewandowski.
“Donald Trump needs to understand the greatness of America comes from America’s goodness and evangelicals’ commitment to the timeless principles of humility, justice and mercy honored by Christians throughout the ages.”
But Trump has steadfastly refused. During an interview in Wisconsin, he told the press “the easiest thing to do” would be to say, “Corey, you’re fired,” but he said he couldn’t do that. Rather, he said Lewandowski was being “maligned” by Fields.
The charges against Lewandowski were filed several days after the event. Based on both sides’ accounts, following a press conference, Fields followed Trump and continued asking questions.
According to Fields’ original account, which she posted to the Breitbart News website, someone grabbed her “tightly by the arm” and yanked her down. She said she “almost fell to the ground,” but was able to maintain her balance.
After Lewandowski said he hadn’t touched her, she posted a photo to Twitter that shows bruising on her forearm, just above the wrist.
The Trump Organization provided Jupiter police with surveillance video (see below) taken from above the scene which appears to question both accounts of the incident. The video, which is a progression of still shots, shows Lewandowski did grab Fields, but on the upper arm, not on her forearm. It also fails to show any evidence that Fields was pulled downward.
Adding to the intrigue, The Daily Mail, a U.K.-based newspaper, interviewed one of Trump’s Secret Service agents, who offered additional details:
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of Trump’s U.S. Secret Service detail told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that Fields made physical contact with Trump twice—and was warned by agents to stop—before Lewandowski grabbed her arm to pull her away from the billionaire.
“She crossed in between agents and our protectee after being told not to,” said the agent, who was present that night in Jupiter.
Fields, who is the daughter of Hollywood writer and producer Greg Fields, has a new book due out in June. She began her career with The Daily Caller, but left there shortly after beginning a relationship with Senior Editor Jamie Weinstein.
She later worked for PJ Media, another conservative news outlet, before moving to Breitbart. Throughout her career, she has been no stranger to controversy.
In February, Charles C. Johnson, who operates the GotNews.com website, complained to her bosses at Breitbart for falsely accusing him of hacking into her computer. She had tweeted those accusations, but the tweets of since been deleted.
“Not only was this absurd to accuse another reporter of a federal crime, but she didn’t correct her tweet about it until I called her bosses at Breitbart and forced her to,” he reported. “No apology, nothing.”
One year prior, she was one of the PJ Media employees at the center of alleged sexual harassment involving former U.S. Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.). And early in her career, while working for The Daily Caller, she was allegedly hit with a baton by New York City police after disobeying officers’ orders while covering the Occupy Wall Street protests.
