Trump campaign veterans are cheering the sudden surge of new staffers, including the return of Corey Lewandowski, as a sign that Trump is regaining some of the bravado and spontaneity of his successful 2016 campaign.
Trump made a surprise move on Thursday, bringing in Corey Lewandowski, whom he fired a month before Congress in 2016, while adding several former Trump campaign veterans to his current staff.
Although it comes at a time when Kamala Harris has been gaining momentum in the polls and enjoying a lengthy press “honeymoon,” Trump’s campaign staff have consistently denied the move is a shakeup. But Trump added intrigue to what he had in mind when he publicly called Lewandowski his “personal envoy” — a title that symbolizes a broad and as-yet-undefined portfolio.
“Trump 2024 could be the best and most successful Trump of all: he remembers the hunger, the arrogance, the underdog, the underrated joy-at-work ethos of 2016, combined with a four-year presidential record of prosperity and security, and topped with the trappings of a well-funded, organized, professional campaign structure that contrasts with Kamala on policy,” Kellyanne Conway, a former senior adviser to the president, told DailyMail.com.
Conway later became the first woman to successfully lead a presidential campaign in 2016, advising Trump throughout his presidency.
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that Corey Lewandowsky would serve as a “personal envoy,” creating a mystery around his exact role
She took heart from the recent onboarding of new staffers who are veterans of his previous campaigns and ready to get back in the suit. It means Trump could get a range of guidance and was “superstitious about getting the gang back together.”
“The campaign has invested in the fundamentals (ground game, voter registration and turnout, polling, messaging, digital, fundraising) and the “non-sexy parts of politics,” including litigation, campaigning and “election integrity,” she said. The goal is to have Trump run with the “energy of an insurgent and the results of an incumbent president.”
A Trump adviser and former campaign manager stressed that the change does not amount to a personnel shakeup replacing campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, who are credited with steering Trump through the primaries.
The official said Lewandowski would “advise the senior leadership as we march toward victory. He will be part of that team reporting to Susie and Chris. The senior leadership will remain unchanged.”
Corey Lewandowsky led Trump’s 2016 campaign from the very beginning, but left just weeks before the Republican convention
According to Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to the president, the new moves could bring back some of the swagger and underdog feel of Trump’s winning 2016 campaign.
Trump asked during his marathon press conference at Bedminister on Thursday whether the staff changes were a strategic shift.
“No, I think it’s a sign of, we want to wrap it up. We had, we have great people. Susie’s great, as you know, and Chris is great. They’re running it. Corey Lewandowski is coming in. He’ll be, you know, a personal envoy, or he’ll be at some level,” Trump said.
“They’re doing a great job,” he said, referring to the “horrific abuses that are happening to us” by what he called the “fake news media.”
And he made clear that he has no intention of letting up on his attacks on Harris, even as the two battle for the support of suburban women. “I think I have a right to personal attacks. I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence,” Trump said.
Lewandowski was the founder of the mantra ‘Let Trump be Trump’ and gave his book this title.
Taylor Budowich, who led the super PAC MAGA, Inc., and Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz of the PAC are also on board. Tim Murtaugh, who served as Trump’s communications director in 2020, is also on board.
A campaign official called it “just an addition to the campaign” and said Trump’s statement made clear it was not a restructuring of current staff.
Trump fired Lewandowski in 2016 after he was accused of assaulting a reporter. He served as a political commentator for a time and remained a sounding board for Trump. He attended Trump’s debate in Atlanta with President Joe Biden, flying with Trump on the candidate’s plane.
Aides did not provide further explanation of his new role as “envoy.”