Trump ahead of New Hampshire speech: Lewandowski would be ‘fantastic’ senator

President Trump on Thursday offered praise for his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, telling a local radio host that Lewandowki would make a “great” addition to the Senate should he choose to run.

Trump, speaking on “New Hampshire Today” ahead of his rally in the state Thursday night, told host Jack Heath that Lewandowski would make a “great senator” for New Hampshire should he choose to run in 2020 against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), according to CBS News.

{mosads}”Well, first of all, I have to tell you that I think he would be fantastic, he’s got great energy,” he said in the interview. “He’s terrific on television, you’ve seen. He’s a really good guy, I like him a lot. I like him, I like his family, I like everything about him. I think Corey is a fantastic guy.”

“And I don’t think he’s made that decision yet,” Trump added. “I will say this, if he ran he would be a great senator. If he ran and won he’d be a great senator. He would be great for New Hampshire, he’d be great for the country. He has got a tremendous drive and that drive would be put to the people of New Hampshire’s benefit and the country’s benefit.”

Lewandowski previously told The Hill last week that he was considering a bid against Shaheen, which would mark his first personal entrance into politics. The former Trump campaign manager left the president’s team during the 2016 primary season after an altercation with a female Breitbart News reporter led to allegations of assault.

In a statement, Lewandowski said last week that Shaheen was voting in “lock step” with Democratic Party leadership.

“Jeannie Shaheen has failed the people of NH by voting in lock step with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi,” Lewandowski told The Hill. “The people of NH deserve better. If I run, I would be a voice for all the people of NH.”

Democrats in the state, meanwhile, have characterized the former campaign operative as a “craven lobbyist” with credible accusations of assault against him.

“Corey Lewandowski is a craven lobbyist who has been credibly accused of assault many times and is chomping at the bit to strip away Granite Staters’ health care,” a spokesman for New Hampshire Democrats said last week. “Meanwhile, Senator Shaheen is making a difference for New Hampshire families, leading efforts in the Senate to expand access to health care and taking on the big drug companies to lower the costs of prescription drugs. The contrast couldn’t be more clear.”