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Many people — mostly critics — look at the staff shakeups at the Trump White House and see chaos. Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, two long-serving Trump advisers, see a president trying to make the White House more effective and enemy-free.
“When we’re trying to represent the American people, the president needs a Cabinet where there should be disagreement and there should be discussion, but once a decision is made, everybody’s on the team,” Lewandowski said. “Everyone needs to get on the same page.”
In the final episode of a special three-part ‘Beyond the Bubble’ podcast series, Lewandowski and Bossie, Republican operatives who worked for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, explain that the next two years of the Trump presidency could be similar to the first two as Trump continues to remake his staff.
They recently released their second book — “Trump’s Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency” — alleging there are “embedded enemies of Trump” in this administration.
It was released just as Trump considers even more changes in staff, including his second chief of staff, John Kelly who Lewandowski and Bossie say is blocking them from contacting the president directly.
They say a large number of officials inside the White House, Congress, Justice Department and the intelligence agencies are working to derail Trump’s presidency.
They describe some staffers as part of the so-called “November Ninth Club” who waited until after the election to support Trump merely because they wanted jobs in the administration.
And they describe as “rats” Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, and Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, both who are cooperating with federal prosecutors as they face prison time for various crimes.
Lewandowski served as Trump’s first campaign manager in 2016 but was fired. Lewandowski says he doesn’t hold a grudge.
“We’re not official staffers, but Dave and I have the ability to serve the president and his agenda through TV appearances, and op-eds.,” he said. “And, it turns out, the confines of a government job might not suit my likeabilities as much as I might think.”
Listen to Part 1 and 2 here:
Republicans’ Way Forward is produced by Davin Coburn. Anita Kumar, a White House correspondent for McClatchy, recorded this episode at McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.