Former 2016 Trump Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said during a Thursday interview with Fox News that he believes that former President Donald Trump will be involved with Republican politics moving forward — and will not start a new political party.
Lewandowski says that Trump will not be starting what some news organizations have reported as the “Patriot Party” in order to challenge Republicans. Rather, Lewandowski says that Trump will push the party from within, and challenge Republicans in primaries that crossed Trump, according to Fox News. “I don’t think the president has any interest in being part of a third party,” Lewandowski said.
“The ballot access requirements for third parties are exceptionally difficult,” Lewandowski added, according to Fox News. “If the goal is to elect individuals, a third party is not a good vehicle to do that historically speaking. I think the president is going to work within the two party structure that currently exists and he’ll be very effective inside that structure,” he added, Fox News reported. (RELATED: Trump Campaign Disavows The New MAGA Patriot Party)
In a Politico poll of GOP and GOP-leaning voters, “a third (33%) said they are more interested in being a member of the Republican Party, and 30% said they would be more interested in being a member of the Patriot Party.” https://t.co/1QRRWoWTcv pic.twitter.com/1wqOyzXXAr
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) January 27, 2021
Lewandowski, who also served as an advisor on Trump’s reelection effort in 2020, went on to say that “the president continues to have enormous support and approval among Republican primary voters. He continues to have hundreds of millions of dollars in his campaign account, which he can utilize. And he will continue to be actively involved in recruiting candidates and holding elected officials accountable for their votes,” according to Fox News.
Lewandowski believes Trump might start helping primary efforts against Republicans Trump believes turned their back on him,—especially those who vote for the impeachment effort—Fox News reported.
“They will all get primary challenges in my opinion,” Lewandowski said, according to Fox News. “I don’t know at what level the president’s going to weigh in on each of those races, but I think he will be involved in a number of them,” he continued.
Whether or not these efforts will be a success remains unknown, Lewandowski argued, according to Fox News. “We’re going to see how much influence the president wants to exert going forward,” Lewandowski told Fox news. “I don’t think anybody knows that yet,” he stated.