Corey Lewandowski called his former boss "the greatest political phenomenon of our lifetime" in a 30- minute speech to the City Club of Cleveland today. The former campaign manager and still close advisor to President Trump also attacked the media.
But Lewandowski also had to field some challenging questions from the audience.
Since leaving the Trump campaign last year, Lewandowski has remained an close adviser to the Trump administration and founded a consulting business. So when he publicly called on Trump to fire Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and former Ohio attorney general, red flags went up about why he was going after Cordray and on whose behalf.
“Yes or no, is Community Choice Financial indeed one of your company’s clients?” an audience member asked.
“Let me be as clear as I can be, as clear as I can be: Whether Richard Cordray is chair of the CFPB or not chair of the CFPB, I don’t make one dime on that decision, not one dime,” he said.
Community Choice Financial is an Ohio-based payday lender, an industry facing new regulations from the CFPB, and, according to the New York Times, a client of Lewandowski’s.
Another questioner asked the same question, and again Lewandowski refused to answer it directly.
Cordray, a Democrat, is widely believed to be considering a run for governor. Lewandowski was appearing at a fundraiser tonight for one of the four Republican gubernatorial candidates, Congressman Jim Renacci.
Here's the video of Lewandowski's City Club appearance:
