Loyalty to Trump helped Corey Lewandowski survive harassment scandal
In 2021, allegations of unwanted sexual advances dogged Trump’s former campaign manager. Now Lewandowski is back.


Corey Lewandowski departs the stage after speaking alongside former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Derry, N.H., in October. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Beth Reinhard and Isaac Stanley-Becker
August 31, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Days after a Republican donor accused Corey Lewandowski, a longtime Donald Trump adviser, of sexually harassing her at a Las Vegas charity dinner in September 2021, she received an unexpected and apologetic phone call.

The call was from the former president seeking to reassure her, said the donor, Trashelle Odom, who alleged that Lewandowski had repeatedly groped her and made sexually explicit comments at the event. … “I really appreciated him taking the time to call me,” Odom said in a recent interview with The Washington Post, speaking about Trump’s outreach, which has not been previously reported.

Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, also called to check on her, she said, and promised that Lewandowski would face consequences. He was quickly ejected from his leadership role at a pro-Trump organization, with a Trump spokesman announcing that Lewandowski “will no longer be associated with Trump World.”

But three years later, Lewandowski, 50, is officially back in the fold. The former president recently named him a senior campaign adviser — leaving Odom feeling distraught and betrayed.

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By Beth Reinhard
Beth Reinhard has been a reporter at The Washington Post since 2017. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, National Journal, The Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post. Twitter

By Isaac Stanley-Becker
Isaac Stanley-Becker is an investigative reporter on the national staff. Twitter