'It's ugly': Ex-Trump aide revisits 'drain the swamp' as many ask what's changed on corruption
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager addressed the growing corruption allegations against the Trump administration, saying people want to know what happened to “draining the swamp.”
"Drain the swamp" was a signature promise of Trump’s first campaign. He had pledged to uproot corruption from the capital and install a government that served ordinary Americans, not special interests.
Former aide says Americans want to know about Trump's corruption promise
Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign manager, Bill Stepien, appeared on CNN’s 'Table For Five' on Saturday, October 24, where he said that corruption allegations against the Trump administration are ugly and that Americans are tired of it.
Host Abby Philip began her questioning with a CNBC poll claiming that 36% of the respondents said that corruption was their top issue.
“Something has shifted where the corruption message really has broken through, and it seems to be giving Democrats a mandate to address it,” Philip said before asking Stepien what consequences he sees of that for the Trump administration.
Stepien said that the corruption concerns came after Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation and what he described as a “really, really bad” week of news for the Trump administration. Guilfoyle, Trump’s ambassador to Greece, stepped down following allegations that she had used her position to buy favors. Her lawyers deny wrongdoing.
“Yeah. That poll was taken on the heels of the [Kimberly] Guilfoyle resignation and the week-long news cycle, which was really, really bad,” he said.
He said Trump and his team had talked about “draining the swamp” 10 years ago, but people now wonder what has changed when they see headlines involving Guilfoyle, her alleged “trappings” and text messages. Stepien called the situation “ugly” and said it had given Democrats an opening.
Notably, former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin was also present on the panel, and she mentioned former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski.
“What about Corey Lewandowski being investigated by the Department of Justice?” asked Griffin.
“And of course, everybody knows how much money the Trump family and the president himself have made in the last two years,” Phillip said, reiterating Griffin’s point during the panel discussion. The CNN host further said that the corruption issue is clearly on Americans' minds.
Trump admin pursues corruption probe against Corey Lewandowski
Trump’s Justice Department is investigating allegations that Corey Lewandowski personally profited while serving as an unpaid special government employee at the Department of Homeland Security.
The investigation was reportedly based on a referral from the DHS inspector general. It is the first publicly known case of Trump’s second-term Justice Department investigating someone close to the president.
