CNN's Corey Lewandowski Lashes Out At “Weak,” “Failed Leader” Reince Priebus
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the October 9 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:
COREY LEWANDOWSKI: I agree with David a lot, but I also think if you look at the Morning Consult poll, the poll that was just conducted post the release of this tape, 74 percent of the Republicans that were polled say “we're not leaving Donald Trump.”
ERIN BURNETT (HOST): That's right.
LEWANDOWSKI: You know who's leaving? The weak, feckless leadership of the Republican Party is leaving. The people who live in --
BURNETT: Well, you're making the David versus Goliath argument as well.
LEWANDOWSKI: That's exactly what it is. David -- Donald Trump walked outside of Trump Tower yesterday, and was absolutely mauled by the people who want to support him. I have seen it first hand across this country, in every state in the country, and you know what I saw yesterday, and I continue to see today?
Weak elected leaders who want to put their own political interest first. Reince Priebus is a great example. Donna Brazile, tough as nails, would hold the Democratic Party together, and held the Democratic Party together under the Clinton leadership and all the scandal that happened there. The Democrats all stand together.
You know what happened to the Republicans? “We need an apology,” Donald Trump makes an apology and they say “We're leaving anyways.” It's egregious, there is absolutely no --
BURNETT: So, you say Reince is weak?
LEWANDOWSKI: Absolutely, not only is he weak, he's a failed leader. And on top of that, let me just tell you something, the American people are so tired of the people in Washington, D.C. telling them what to do.
BURNETT: OK.
LEWANDOWSKI: That's why Donald Trump beat all of the establishment, all the people who are supposed to be the leaders of the party moving forward. Donald Trump beat them all. He got 14 million votes in the primary. And he's going to win the general election.
[...]
GLORIA BORGER: So what are you saying? Are you saying the Republican Party is abandoning Donald Trump?
LEWANDOWSKI: No, what I'm saying is that Donald Trump has --
BORGER: I mean, the leadership --
LEWANDOWSKI: Donald Trump has tapped into something that the Republicans have lost in the last 30 years, which is the rank and file people out there. That's why they're upset, that's why they took Donald Trump as their nominee, and that's why Donald Trump continues to have 75 percent of the Republicans self-identified supporting Donald Trump.
Previously:
A Trump Apologist Told Ana Navarro Not To Say “Pussy” On CNN. It Didn't Go Well For Her.