Paul Manafort, who served as campaign chairman for former President Trump’s 2016 election bid, said Tuesday that the GOP nominee would work alongside Democrats if it meant cementing his presidential legacy.
“There’s a good reason to think he’ll reach out to the other side because he knows that this term is important for his legacy,” Manafort told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.
“But more important than that, he’s running to change to get back to where he had the country pre-COVID in his first term,” he added in the interview on “CUOMO.”
Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020 alongside nearly two dozen other allies just before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and the 45th president’s subsequent departure from the White House.
“Will he ever give up power? He gave up power,” Manafort said. “He may have objected to the election, but on Jan. 20, at 12 o’clock, he walked off the stage and got on a plane and flew to Florida.”
His comments come as Trump’s refusal to accept his 2020 election loss has been back in headlines due to his own comments and those of his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
Manafort’s claim of Trump working alongside Democrats hasn’t materialized during the campaign season, with rhetoric at Trump’s most recent rally labeling his opponent “a trainwreck who has destroyed everything in her path” among more vulgar names from speakers.
Vice President Harris and other Democrats also frequently voice their disdain for the former president, with the Democratic nominee calling him a “petty tyrant” and a “wannabe dictator” in her closing arguments Tuesday at the Ellipse in Washington.
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