Corey Lewandowski says the White House did all that was necessary when President Donald Trump deleted a retweet of a video in which a supporter shouts "white power" at anti-Trump demonstrators.
“The president’s been very clear that there’s no tolerance for that. He stands with the men and women who believe that everyone is equal -- there’s no question about that,” said Lewandowski, who worked as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016 and is back on the 2020 campaign as an adviser.
Trump has made several racially charged comments since taking office, most recently calling the coronavirus, COVID-19, the “Chinese virus” and “kung flu”; calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas”; and in 2017 saying there were “very fine people” on both sides of clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In a statement, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said Trump did not hear the person saying the phrase in the video.
MORE: Trump, White House yet to condemn 'white power' video he retweetedABC News’ Linsey Davis pressed Lewandowski, asking why the president couldn’t denounce the use of the white supremacist phrase after he retweeted it to his 82 million followers for three hours before it was taken down.
“It was obviously a mistake and as soon as it was brought to his attention the tweet was removed,” Lewandowski said. “As soon as he was notified, it was taken down. The White House was very clear the president didn’t hear it and there’s not much more they can do other than that.”
Lewandowski also weighed in on the disappointing turnout to Trumps “mega rally” in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend.
MORE: Trump tweets, then deletes, protest video that includes supporter yelling 'white power'The president promised no empty seats and his campaign said it received more than a million ticket requests. The venue, which could hold nearly 20,000 people, ultimately ended up about a third full.
“The notion that 6,000 people showed up in the world of COVID-19 should really be recognized as a success,” Lewandowski said. “Look, is it a million people? Of course not. But the world of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we interact socially … and I think we have to take that into account going forward.”
Lewandowski said that as Trump looks toward a second term, voters should remember that he’s kept his promises to his supporters, including immigration reform, homeland security, national security funding and creating “the greatest economy the world has ever seen … prior to the coronavirus pandemic.”
He said he wasn’t worried about Trump falling significantly behind former Vice President Joe Biden in a Fox News and New York Times poll released last week.
“The only thing that matters is when people go to the polls [in November],” he said. “The silent majority … will turn out once again and support Donald Trump.”