(Front row, left to right) David Bossie, Corey Lewandowski, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry at Trump book signing. GNOR hosts John Tobler and Phil Brickman are in the back row. (photo by Danae Columbus for UptownMessenger.com)
Danae Columbus, opinion columnist
Donald Trump was elected President of the United States because he “rekindled a dream for millions of
Americans” at a time when the Washington establishment “failed to stand up for the people they were elected to represent,” said former Trump insiders Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie. The duo was in Metairie earlier this week for a luncheon and signing of their recent book, “Let Trump Be Trump.” Hosted by the Greater New Orleans Republicans, the event also featured Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry who introduced the authors.
Local attendees included GNOR Chairman John Tobler, GNOR president Phil Brickman, Jeff Courere, Alan Yacoubian, Stacey Alessandro, Eve Vavrick, Richard Brown, Arita Lipps-Bohannan, and Sarah Roy Harbison who was a Trump staffer in Louisiana and is mentioned in the book.
This quick and easy read filled with pithy anecdotes is a light primer on the “free-balling, cart-wheeling road show” which changed the presidency forever. Both authors are long-time Trump cheerleaders. A former operative at the Americans for Prosperity advocacy group who had little presidential campaign experience, Lewandowski served as Trump’s campaign manager until June, 2016 when he clashed with Trump’s children and high-level strategist Paul Manafort. He currently operates a Washington, D.C. consulting firm and is a visiting fellow at Harvard University.
Bossie became deputy campaign manager in September 2016 and also heads up the ultra-conservative Citizens United, best known for overturning campaign finance laws. Bossie first met Trump through now-embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn and introduced Lewandowski to Trump. Bossie and Lewandowski quickly learned that Trump is values loyalty, demands excellence, is remarkably superstitious, slow to trust outsiders, and “wouldn’t stand for anything less than all you had.” It became clear that Trump was the boss who would not fit into a traditional campaign strategy.
Landry said Trump won the presidency “against all odds” and believes that Trump embodies the American dream. Landry also praised Bossie as a man who “believes in conservative principles and won’t compromise his convictions.” Bossie, Landry explained, was responsible for getting Trump and now Vice President Mike Pence to visit Louisiana shortly after the August, 2016 massive flooding in the Baton Rouge area. Bossie spoke of his strong relationship with the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty fame and called Landry a “principled leader.”
“People are constantly trying to tear down President Trump and his administration,” said Bossie. “At the State of the Union address, the Democrats did not applaud America and did not applaud our flag. The Democrats hate President Trump, more than they love this country. They are so mad that Hillary was beat. They hate that Obama’s failed policies were beat,” Bossie continued.
Lewandowski said he would not change anything that happed during the campaign. “It’s important to get the real story of the Trump campaign out,” said Lewandowski. Trump made 720 stops on the campaign trail and used more than 98,000 gallons of fuel for his personal fleet of helicopters and jets including Trump Force One, a 24-karat-plated, plush-leather adorned, first-class aircraft complete with a master bedroom, dining room, galley, big screen TV and a concert-level sound system. Though the accommodations were plush, the cuisine was limited to “four major food groups” – McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke.
“Donald Trump simply out-worked Hillary Clinton,” said the authors. “The Democrats put all their emphasis on early voting and absentee ballots and ignored Election Day.” Pollster Kellyanne Conway, the authors reported, frequently referenced “the undercover Trump voters who didn’t believe the Left’s propaganda against Trump but who felt isolated by it.”
Donald Trump began thinking about running for President thirty years ago and initially preached the “America First” mantra in 1988. “Trump’s thoughts come out like a puzzle. Sometimes they form a masterpiece,” the authors wrote. “Trump knew how to speak to the people whether they were from the Iowa farmland or Woodside Queens.”
Early in the campaign Trump used a series of interviews with Steve Bannon on Breitbart News to test how policies he was considering would play with voters. Though the Trump campaign called the media “a waddle of deranged penguins,” Trump used his national interviews to help him prepare for the debates. “It didn’t matter to the people who listened to Trump whether the boss had gotten the details correct, his words captured the way they felt and that’s all that mattered,” the authors wrote. “People who don’t know Trump see him as a cold, calculating mogul bereft of feeling for people…but he sees the humanity in people and he has a soft spot for those who battle demons. He cares about the taxi drivers and the workers running bobcats and jack hammers and they know it.”
Once Trump’s poll numbers began to grow, campaign officials realized he would be “tough to beat” because he “wasn’t afraid to say or do things that he believed in, no matter how politically incorrect it might seem and by doing so his actions and words spoke to people like no other politician.” His ongoing positions on building the Mexican wall, restricting Muslim immigration, and returning millions of immigrants – including DREAMERS – to their birth countries support that philosophy.
Back in Washington today life goes on. Another government shutdown is looming at midnight, Corey Lewandowski is refusing to testify before the House Intelligence Committee regarding the Russian probe, and Congressman Steve Scalise introduced President Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast. As long as the voters continue to support President Trump’s policies, we can all expect more of the same.
WILL MITCH LANDRIEU SEEK A SEAT ON 4TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEAL?
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is a familiar stopping-off spot for members of the Landrieu family. Former Mayor Moon Landrieu became a judge there in 1992 after completing a term as HUD Secretary under Jimmy Carter. Madeleine Landrieu also served on the 4th Circuit until she became Loyola Law School Dean in 2017. Now Mitch Landrieu, who will complete his eight years as Mayor of New Orleans on May 1, 2018, is said to be eyeing that bench as well.
Although none of the current judges serving on the Appeals Court are up for re-election this year, rumors are circulating that one of the judges who has a long-time relationship with the Landrieu family is currently considering early retirement, due to health issues. Landrieu should receive especially strong support from African-American and liberal white voters who supported last year’s removal of the historic monuments. The 4th Circuit Appeals Court was created in 1879 and has 12 judges, each elected for a 10 year term. The annual salary is $152,091.
Danae Columbus, who has had a 30-year career in politics and public relations, offers her opinions on Thursdays. Her career includes stints at City Hall, the Dock Board and the Orleans Parish School Board and former clients such as District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, City Council members Stacy Head and Jared Brossett, Foster Campbell, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, former Sheriff Charles Foti and former Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. Her current clients include District B City Council candidate Seth Bloom and At-Large City Council candidate Helena Moreno.
Look at the current status of New Orleans, floods, crime and discord, and excessive property taxes and try to tell yourself that Landrieu has achieved anything as Mayor. With no federal job available, do you want to pay him to hang out in the Quarter at the 4th Circuit ? I don’t.