Trump: Reporter ‘made up story’ about assault by campaign manager

Two days after Donald Trump celebrated three more primary wins at a press conference at the National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla., the Republican front-runner released a new statement following the GOP debate defending his and his campaign manager against charges of an alleged assault against a reporter.

Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields claimed Wednesday she was injured when Trump’s top adviser Corey Lewandowski nearly pushed her to the ground the day before. On Thursday, Fields posted an image to Twitter of a bruise on her arm as evidence of the incident.

“Nothing happened. This was, in my opinion, made up. Now I didn’t see anything. All of a sudden we heard about it later on. But the Secret Service said nothing happened. He [Corey Lewandowski] didn’t hear about it until like, the next day,” Trump said in a statement following the Thursday debate in Miami.

Instead, the GOP front-runner claimed the reporter made up the story. Although Breitbart has not endorsed a candidate, its coverage of the 2016 Republican race has been mostly favorable to Trump.

“Perhaps she made the story up. I think that’s what happened,” Trump told reporters.

It wasn’t the first time Trump’s team denied the allegation. Earlier on Thursday, Trump’s team said its staffers would “never do anything to harm another individual.”

The only other source to confirm the incident was Washington Post reporter Ben Terris. Breitbart has called on Lewandowski to apologize for his behavior.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks offered a different resolution before the Thursday debate, telling Fields she should have informed the campaign about the incident instead of taking to social media to voice her concerns.

“…If that was the case, any concerns, however unfounded they may be, should have been voiced directly first and not via Twitter,” Hope said.

Fields and Breitbart have not issued a statement in response to Trump’s most recent comments.

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