Politics / Donald Trump 2016 Trump's Kids Got Lewandowski Fired Seems Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka were done with him By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff Posted Jun 20, 2016 3:14 PM CDT Copied Donald Trump, chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization, poses with his children Eric, left, Donald Jr., second left, and Ivanka, at the opening of the Trump SoHo New York, Friday, April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Donald Trump may have done the firing, but his adult children apparently led the charge. A senior Trump staffer tells New York that Trump's kids—Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka—launched the coup that resulted in Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, getting the ax Monday morning. "Things went south for Lewandowski, and he was fired," the staffer says. Talk about going south: Lewandowski showed up for the regular Monday meeting at Trump Tower without knowing Trump had already turned against him, a source tells Breitbart. When Trump reviewed the campaign's problems (like sinking polls and low fundraising) Lewandowski said only that Trump's VP pick would turn the tide. That's when Trump fired him and had him escorted outside. "I don't know, I don't know the answer to that," Lewandowski said when asked on CNN why he was fired. He added that "things change as a campaign evolves" and said he'll continue to support Trump from "inside" or "outside the campaign." "Ding dong the witch is dead!" tweeted Michael Caputo, a top adviser who directed Trump's campaign in New York. He included a photo of the defeated Wicked Witch of the East from The Wizard of Oz. Ivanka was "particularly unhappy" with Lewandowski since he was accused of grabbing Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields by the arm, tweeted NBC reporter Katy Tur. The woman who broke the news of Lewandowski's ouster—press secretary Hope Hicks—is described by GQ as "a smiley PR lackey" who became Trump's "27-year-old accidental press secretary." Senior Trump strategist Paul Manafort will take Lewandowski's place, sources tell NBC News. A former aide to Ronald Reagan, Manafort was seen as Lewandowski's rival in the campaign, per NPR. "[Corey] knew there was a battle brewing," says a campaign source. "I am certain he thought he would win." (More Donald Trump 2016 stories.) Report an error