Trump's former campaign manager said the ex-president is now surrounded by people trying to take advantage of him
- Corey Lewandowski said many of Trump's allies and advisers are merely pretending to support him.
- The former Trump campaign manager said they want Trump to run so they can write tell-alls about him.
Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's 2016 campaign manager, has accused Trump's current advisers and allies of looking to take advantage of the former president.
"I think a lot of people have seen the dollar signs with their relationship with Donald Trump," said Lewandowski on Tuesday during an appearance on the conservative network Real America's Voice.
"They want him to run for office because it's good for them or because they think there's an opportunity down the road to chastise him, to write a book, a tell-all, or something like that," he added.
Lewandowski ran Trump's 2016 presidential campaign but was fired during the Republican primary.
During Tuesday's show, he also said that many of Trump's supporters or staff are merely pretending to back him so they can "leave afterward and then chastise him or become a commentator on the networks."
Lewandowski, too, was hired as a political commentator on Fox News and CNN in 2016 after his sacking. However, he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Trump that forbids him from making negative remarks about the former president.
In 2017 he co-authored a book with David Bossie, who worked with him on Trump's campaign, titled "Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency."
While Lewandowski didn't mention any specific names on Tuesday, several former Trump aides have since broken off from the former president and published tell-alls detailing their experiences under his administration.
These include high-profile officials such as former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, one-time White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and former COVID-19 adviser Scott Atlas.
Lewandowski said on Tuesday that a "small group" of Trump aides, including himself, Bossie, and Dave Scavino, have remained loyal to the former president and "have his best interests at heart."
He is currently the chairman of a PAC called Fight Back Now America, which aims to support "Trump-like" candidates in support of the America First movement.
However, it's unclear if Lewandowski still has any ties to Trump. Hired in 2020 to run Trump's super PAC Make America Great Again Action, Lewandowski was fired in September after a Republican donor accused him of making unwanted sexual advances.
That same month, a spokesperson for Trump tweeted that Lewandowski "will no longer be associated with Trump World."