Trump Defends Actions of Campaign Manager, Calls Charge ‘Unfair’
Trump said he will stand by Corey Lewandowski.
— -- Donald Trump defended his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski today and disputed that his aide had injured former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields earlier this month.
"So before [Fields] knew she was on tape, she said, 'I was jolted backwards.' Was she jolted backwards? I mean, if she was, her face stayed the same," Trump told supporters at a campaign event in Janesville, Wisconsin. "Except she never went to the ground...she never even flinched."
Lewandowski was charged with simple battery in Jupiter, Florida, for the alleged incident involving Fields following a Trump press conference on March 8 at Trump National Golf Club. Jupiter Police released a video today of the altercation.
“When somebody is maligned so unfairly as that, I will stick by them,” Trump told reporters earlier today aboard his private plane. “I just can't stand by and watch a man's life be destroyed.”
Trump said Lewandowski was trying to block Fields from grabbing him.
“He was trying to block her,” Trump said. “That's the way I would view it, and she's grabbing me and asking questions. She's not even supposed to ask questions.”
“Does that mean that I'm supposed to file charges against her?” Trump asked. “She was grabbing me.”
Trump called the battery charge "unfair" and said that he will stand by his campaign manager.
“I know it would be very easy for me to discard people,” he said. “I don't discard people. I stay with people.”
Two days after the alleged incident, Fields shared a photo of her arm which appeared to be bruised.
Trump questioned the veracity of Fields' photo.
"How do you know those bruises weren't there before?" Trump said. "I'm not a lawyer. She said she had a bruise on her arm. I mean to me, if you're going to get squeezed, wouldn't you think that you would have yelled out a scream or something if she has bruises on her arm?"
Trump also argued that reporters “probably get treated a lot rougher than that on a daily basis.”
Jupiter Police told ABC News that Lewandowski is scheduled to appear in court on May 4. Trump said he advised Lewandowski not to settle the case.
"He's got a very good lawyer. They will fight it," Trump said. "I told him he should never settle that case."
