JANESVILLE, Wis. — Donald Trump accused former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields of grabbing or hitting his arm before his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski allegedly pulled Fields away from him.
Trump doubled down on his support for his Lewandowski — who was charged with simple battery Tuesday over the incident with Fields — during his first campaign stop in Wisconsin. The New York developer told his the crowd of supporters at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, “At first I thought oh this is terrible. Then I saw the tape. It’s my tape. I’m the one who had the tape. It’s on the ceiling of this incredible club in Jupiter, Florida.”
He went further saying, “And we are all leaving. And we have a press conference. The press conference lasted a long time it was like 45 minutes. So that was enough. I’m leaving with a whole big gang of people Who are pushing left and right. And all of a sudden she bolts into the picture. She grabs me or hit me on the arm.”
“In fact I’m like this with my arm up. And then he goes by and I –-– maybe he touched her a little bit, but I didn’t see it. It was almost like he was trying to keep her off of me,” he added, declaring he did not want to “destroy” Lewandowski’s life over the matter.
Local police in Jupiter, Florida issued Lewandowski a notice to appear before a judge on May 4 for the misdemeanor charge, and it carries up to a year in jail.