As Donald Trump defends his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, against a battery charge, several of Trump’s backers continue to stand by the Republican presidential frontrunner, Buzzfeed News reported late Tuesday.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump, doesn’t plan to withdraw his support for the candidate over allegations that Lewandowski manhandled a reporter, according to Hunter’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper.
“It’s for the Trump campaign to decide what to do, based on facts and not premature judgments,” Kasper told Buzzfeed News. “And even then, this will have to run its course. The Trump campaign will make the right call but I’m absolutely positive there are a lot of people with political bias who would like to see him gone from the campaign, as if that would somehow slow down Trump’s momentum. But this has no influence on Rep. Hunter’s support for Trump as a candidate.”
Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), another Trump endorser, also said his support for the real estate mogul would not be impacted by the charge filed against Lewandowski.
“I have been interviewed by Michelle Fields and she is a complete professional,” he said in a statement to Buzzfeed News. “As a former district attorney and U.S. attorney, I know that everybody deserves there [sic] day in court. We are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I continue to support Donald Trump because he is the only candidate who has what it takes to secure our borders, protect our country from Islamic terrorists and regenerate our slumping economy after eight years of weak leadership from President Obama.”
Several other prominent Trump supporters contacted by Buzzfeed News, like Ben Carson and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, indicated that they would continue to support Trump without mentioning the incident involving Lewandowski.
