If you can’t beat them, join them.
That’s Corey Lewandowski’s latest move after Donald Trump unceremoniously kicked him to the Fifth Avenue curb.
But his hiring by CNN, announced just days after he was ousted as a campaign manager, caused a stir on Thursday among Trump critics and journalists weary from their run-ins with the media-hating strongman.
Lewandowski reportedly was known as a divisive and verbally abusive operative long before before Trump hired him, but he quickly earned a reputation for his battles with the campaign trail press.
His most literal tussle was his run-in with Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative site Breitbart. He was arrested for misdemeanor battery for allegedly manhandling her after a Trump press conference in Florida, which sparked further scrutiny of the campaign’s treatment of the press. Lewandowski went out of his way to smear Fields as “delusional” and an “attention seeker,” but denied they’d ever met. The charge was later dropped.
It wasn’t the only time Lewandowski ended up in legal trouble during his tenure with the Trump campaign. Both the campaign manager and the New York businessman were named as the defendants in a $4 million defamation lawsuit filed by GOP strategist Cheri Jacobus, a frequent guest on CNN and other networks, after Lewandowski fired back at her criticism of Trump by claiming that Jacobus begged for a job with the campaign.
Back in November, Lewandowski solidified his reputation as an attack dog for Trump after CNN’s Noah Gray tweeted video of a tense exchange with the then-top Trump aide. In the video, Lewandowski was shown threatening to pull Gray’s press credentials if he didn’t get back in the “pen,” a roped off area designated for reporters. Gray had apparently entered the crowd to approach protesters at the event when Lewandowski said he would “fucking blacklist” him if he didn’t return to the pen.
After his arrest in Florida, new allegations came to light about Lewandowski being physically aggressive with reporters. After a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, BuzzFeed reported Lewandowski shoved CNN’s Gray away as he tried to pose a question to the candidate.
Lewandowski gave his very first sit-down interview after being dropped from Trump’s team to CNN’s Dana Bash on Monday. But his new gig as CNN’s resident Trump insider could be complicated if Lewandowski signed a nondisclosure agreement that prevents him from disparaging Trump. After Lewandowski’s interview with Bash, CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reported after that such an agreement is required of “anyone who works for the Trump campaign.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Peter Alexander later Monday, Lewandowski repeatedly refused to say whether he had signed a nondisclosure agreement.
Most recently, Trump’s campaign has maintained a blacklist of reporters and media outlets they’ve chosen to bar from events over coverage the billionaire deems unfair. Trump has defended the practice, saying he rents the areas, “so I have an option” available.
