Donald Trump on calls to fire Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager: ‘I don’t do that. I’m loyal’

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Wednesday the country needs a president who’s going to be loyal to the United States, citing his own loyalty as he defended his campaign manager, who is facing a battery charge for allegedly manhandling a reporter earlier this month.

“A lot of you saw the tape. Did anybody think it was a horrible thing, what happened? I don’t get it,” Mr. Trump said at a campaign event in Wisconsin.

Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, was charged with battery Tuesday for a March 8 incident involving then-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. A newly-released security tape showed Mr. Lewandowski appearing to grab Ms. Fields as she tried to get Mr. Trump’s attention after a press conference in Florida, touching the candidate.

“We have people whose heads are being chopped off because they’re Christian, and for other reasons, in Syria, all over the Middle East,” Mr. Trump said. “We have people that are being drowned in cages, 50 at a time, in big steel cages, they’re being dropped into the waters and lifted up an hour later, and I’m trying to figure out.”

“And then you have Ted Cruz: ’He should be fired,’ ” he said. “I said, I don’t do that. I’m loyal. He did a good job.”

Mr. Trump said Mr. Lewandowski did not try to forcibly throw Ms. Fields to the ground. But Ms. Fields has shown images of bruises on her arm consistent with being grabbed.

“And they put out a warrant,” Mr. Trump said. “What kind of a country are we in to destroy somebody, and what kind of a country are we in when they go to Kasich, ’What would you do?’ ’I would fire him.’ They go to Ted Cruz: ’I would fire him.’ “

“Folks, as your president, you need somebody that’s going to be loyal to the country and to yourselves,” he said. “You need somebody that’s going to fight … now if she really did go down, if he did something like that, he would have been fired before she ever got up, OK? That I can tell you.”