“Ultimately, as Mr. Trump knows better than anybody as the head of his own business, the buck stops at the top,” Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s White House campaign, said Tuesday afternoon on CNN.
{mosads}”The candidate has to take responsibility for the conduct of their staff and their supporters at their events,” Fallon continued, adding, “Every campaign has to be accountable for the culture they create.”
Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, echoed that sentiment during an appearance on the network, slamming the “thuggery” at Trump events that have turned violent.
“When you create this kind of climate, this is what happens. It looks like it pervades the campaign both among supporters and among staff,” Weaver said during an interview with Wolf Blitzer.
“I do think that the kind of advocacy of violence by Donald Trump is really unacceptable, and this is what it leads to,” Weaver added.
Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, slammed Trump himself, tweeting that “Campaigns and their staff are a reflection of their candidate. Clowns hire clowns.”
Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, issued a similar comment via Twitter, saying, “A Presidential campaign manager’s job is to manage the circus. Not become one.”
A spokeswoman for Trump said Tuesday afternoon that the campaign “
wholeheartedly supports” Corey Lewandowski after the campaign manager was charged with battery for allegedly grabbing a reporter at a press conference earlier this month.
Police in Jupiter, Fla.,
released video of the March 8 incident that appears to show Lewandowski grabbing the arm of reporter Michelle Fields as she attempts to ask Trump a question.
Trump’s campaign has denied that the incident took place, despite audio and a witness account from a Washington Post reporter. Trump said Tuesday on Twitter that there’s “nothing” in the video.
Trump rival Ted Cruz slammed the “
abusive culture” of Trump’s campaign after the charges were filed Tuesday. Lewandowski’s court hearing is scheduled for May 4, and the campaign said he’ll plead not guilty.
Meanwhile, an aide to GOP candidate John Kasich suggested that Lewandowski should be fired.
“Campaigns reflect the values of the candidate. I know ours does,” Kasich strategist John Weaver tweeted. “If this bully worked for John Kasich, he would have been fired long ago.”
That was echoed by Correct the Record, a super-PAC supporting Clinton, with founder David Brock saying, “Unless he wants the violence to continue, Trump needs to end the reality TV show that his campaign has become and tell Lewandowski, ‘You’re fired.’”
– Updated at 4:02 p.m.
