Watch CNN's Corey Lewandowski Use CNN To Campaign For Trump For 5 Minutes
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the June 27 edition of CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper:
JAKE TAPPER (HOST): Let us turn to the presidential race; Hillary Clinton up in the polls and at the beginning of the month had more than $40 million in the bank more than Trump. Looking from the outside now, calling the balls and strike as you say, what should Mr. Trump be doing differently? How could he be a better candidate?
COREY LEWANDOWSKI: Here is what he's done. He just started his fund-raising online. I think they've raised $11 million in the first two or three days which is unprecedented in the history of online fundraising. They have got a goal to raise another $10 million before the FEC deadline at the end of the month. And if that's the case, in literally less than a week's window he will have raised over $20 million. And as you know, he also said he is willing to make his own contribution to the campaign which he's already invested over $50 million to the campaign. For the money side, I wouldn't worry about that at all. As you know, he has done more with less. Hillary Clinton spent hundreds of millions to vanquish one opponent who still has not come out and endorsed her, I don't believe, or he's getting close. And Mr. Trump spent $50 million, almost all of his own money, to vanquish 16 additional opponents. So he has done more with less and is continuing to do more on the fundraising side.
TAPPER: You're right that Bernie Sanders has not endorsed Hillary Clinton yet, but we should point out that there are a number of people who have not endorsed Mr. Trump either; Ted Cruz, John Kasich, who have not endorsed him either. But let me ask you a question. President George H. W. Bush's national security advisor General Brent Scowcroft, President George W. Bush's Treasury secretary Hank Paulson. Both of them have recently said they're voting for Hillary Clinton. Combine that with George F. Will, a conservative pundit, saying he is leaving the Republican Party because of Mr. Trump. Shouldn't this be a time in the campaign when Republicans are uniting around the nominee?
LEWANDOWSKI: Well, Republicans, and Independents, and Democrats are uniting around the nominee. The difference is it's not the political elites that are doing it. Each person is entitled to one vote. Mr. Trump got almost 14 million votes in this primary process, more than any candidate in history of the Republican Party. What you see is when you go to those rallies and there's 10 or 15,000 people, those people are united. While the political elites are so used to having Washington establishment set policies for the American people, Donald Trump represents a true change. What that change is is a fundamentally different way of making our government run and function, and bring that power back to the people. Putting that power back in the states. Decentralizing the power from Washington, D.C. And that is what has made him a very attractive candidate for those old blue collar Democrats, the Reagan Democrats, and the new blue collars who are tired of bad trade deals like TPP that Hillary Clinton supports.
TAPPER: Well Hillary Clinton says she opposes that deal but she has supported it in the past. But let me ask you, do you think the George Wills, the Brent Scowcrofts, the Hank Paulsons, you say that they are elites but given the fact that Mr. Trump trails Hillary Clinton in polls, is it possible that they represent some Republicans, moderate Republicans, conservative Republicans, whomever who don't want to vote for Mr. Trump? Is it possible it's more than just elites?
LEWANDOWSKI: Here is what I think. If you choose to not vote for Mr. Trump, you've got a binary decision in front of you. Which means your tacit or implicit endorsement of Hillary Clinton is something they should come out and put forth. If you look specifically at state by state analysis of where the polls are, the last poll in New Hampshire which is a battleground state shows Donald Trump even to the decimal point with Hillary Clinton. If you look at Florida, the state is within the margin. If you look at Pennsylvania, Donald Trump is even or ahead in that state. And the national polls are something. But really, this election's going to come down to 7 to 10 states and in those 7 to 10 states Donald Trump is not only competitive but he's winning in many of those and that's where the election's going to take place.
TAPPER: I don't know where he is winning. I know in the states I've seen, the competitive battleground states, he's behind Hillary Clinton in Florida and then they are basically neck and neck in Pennsylvania and Ohio. So where is he leading? What battleground states is he leading in?
LEWANDOWSKI: Look at New Hampshire. Look at New Hampshire right now, he's ahead of her one point or two points now in New Hampshire, it's a critical state, it's a state that makes a difference in the election, it's always been a competitive state, many people consider it a purple state. But Donald Trump is going to do very well in New Hampshire. And the fact that Donald Trump is one point even or one point down in the state of Pennsylvania should be a real wake up call for the Clinton campaign and same is true in Ohio. That's because of the failed policies of this administration, and the people are tired of it, and that's why they're looking at Donald Trump as their next president.
Previously:
What We Do And Don't Know About CNN's Corey Lewandowski Ethics Nightmare
Reporters Savage CNN For Hiring Former Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski
CNN Hosts Countless Pro-Trump Guests -- Why Does It Need Corey Lewandowski?
Before Hiring Corey Lewandowski, CNN Cared About Attacks Against Its Staff