The Bully Asshole

It is now beyond dispute that Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, grabbed (now former) Breitbart New reporter Michelle Fields after a Trump rally in Florida on March 8.  How do I know this?  Because Kevin Drum has the frame-by-frame proof:

This proves three things, actually:

1. Michelle Fields was telling the truth when she said: ". . . I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken."  This is hardly surprising, since Washington Post reporter Ben Terris was an eyewitness to the event, who confirmed at the time that Lewandowski grabbed her.
2. Corey Lewandowski is a liar.  I can't find any reports directly quoting Lewandowski as denying that he grabbed Fields, but the Trump campaign sure did, so he must have lied to Trump.  Either that, or Trump decided to deny Fields' accusation without bothering to ask Lewandowski what happened, which doesn't make Trump look good.
3. Corey Lewandowski is a bully.  Because even though he knew full well Fields was telling the truth about the incident, he decided to attack Fields in social media rather than apologizing, calling her an "attention seeker".

In spite of all this, Trump and his campaign continue to stand solidly behind Lewandowski.  Today Trump gave every excuse in the book for Lewandowski's awful behavior: accusing Fields of changing her story (she didn't), suggesting that when Fields tweeted out a picture of bruises on her arm, that those bruises were there before Lewandowski grabbed her (wishing doesn't make it so, Donald), that she would have screamed if Lewandowski had really hurt her (she probably would have if she had known at the time that Lewandowski and Trump were going to be such dicks about it), and that "I think it's very, very unfair to a man with a wonderful family, back in New Hampshire, who gets, what, a criminal situation, over that?  I think it's a very, very sad day in this country when a man can be destroyed over something like that."

No, Donald.  Since you've been a spoiled brat since birth, I know you don't understand this, but it's called consequences.  This is another Thing Everyone Knows.  When you hurt someone --- even if you don't mean to --- you bear the responsibility of making it right.  If Lewandowski had the moral ethics of a 6-year-old and apologized to Fields and accepted responsibility for his actions, this would have been over in minutes.  I have no doubt Fields would have forgotten about it and nothing would ever have been reported in the media.

Instead, Lewandowski lied and attacked Fields further, so getting slapped with criminal charges is exactly what he deserves.  Losing his job is exactly what he deserves, no matter how wonderful his family in New Hampshire may be.  So if you had any understanding of right and wrong, Donald, you would cut Lewandowski loose.  The fact that you continue to defend him --- even to the point of saying you'll stand by him if he's convicted --- shows that you're as much of a bully as Lewandowski.

It doesn't matter that Lewandowski didn't pull Fields to the ground (she said "I almost lost my balance", and there's no way Trump can prove that she didn't).  It doesn't matter that the only real harm to Fields was some light bruising.  The bottom line is: Lewandowski lied about physically confronting Fields, then bullied her about it.  The fact that Trump continues to defend him shows that Trump values loyalty over accountability, loyalty over honesty.  And the fact the Trump continues to attack Fields shows that he's a bully too.  And NONE of those things are desirable qualities in a president.