During his GOP primary victory speech Tuesday night, frontrunner Donald Trump praised his campaign manager who was accused last week of assaulting a reporter, saying, "Good job, Corey."
Corey Lewandowski, who stood at Trump's right while the candidate addressed supporters and press in Palm Beach after significant victories in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois, reportedly seized the arm of Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields in a scrum last week with enough force to leave a bruise on her arm.
"Corey, good job, Corey," Trump said, pointing to him. "Good job ... Our whole squad, right?"
"Thank you," Lewandowski said, smiling as the crowd cheered.
Several Breitbart reporters have resigned from the site in protest over what they viewed as Breitbart's brass rallying around Trump's campaign rather than standing by their reporter, who filed an assault charge against Lewandowski. Video appears to back up the account by Washington Post reporter Ben Terris that Lewandowski manhandled Fields.
When asked about it last week, Trump said he felt the allegations against Lewandowski were likely made up:
"I have Secret Service agents all over. I have cameras all over. Nobody saw it happen. Nobody complained. I know this guy, and he’s a fantastic guy."
Tur asked what Trump would do if it turned out to be proven that Lewandowski had hurt Fields. Trump replied by asking Tur if she would apologize to Lewandowski if the allegations were false.
"I won’t apologize, but I’ll report that nothing happened, certainly," Tur said.
"Goodbye," Trump said, turning away.
In a separate interview, Trump said he suspected Fields made the story up.