'Superstitious and nostalgic' Trump may put 2016 band back together to save campaign

Donald Trump may be getting the band back together to revive the past glory from his first – and only successful – presidential campaign.

Amid reports that campaign officials suspect longtime adviser Kellyanne Conway might be making a play to take over, the former president's team brought back a handful of top allies, including his 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, reported Politico.

"Lewandowski told allies over the weekend that he was coming back as a campaign chairman essentially a layer above Wiles and LaCivita," reported Tara Palmeri, senior political correspondent for Puck News. "This comes as Trump, superstitious and nostalgic, wants the team that helped him win in 2016 back."

Other Trump aides and allies joining the campaign include Tim Murtaugh, who was communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, along with Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz, a pair of top officials with the MAGA Inc. super PAC, whose leader Taylor Budowich already left to join the campaign in a senior capacity.

“As we head into the home stretch of this election, we are continuing to add to our impressive campaign team,” said Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita in a statement. “Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh are all veterans of prior Trump campaigns and their unmatched experience will help President Trump prosecute the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical ticket in American history.”

Lewandowski was removed from a top post with a pro-Trump super PAC in 2021 after a donor's wife, Trashelle Odom, accused him of making unwanted sexual advances towards her at a Las Vegas charity dinner, and he was later charged with a misdemeanor.

He later entered into an agreement with prosecutors that dismissed the charges in exchange for completing impulse control counseling, community service and paying a fine.

Lewandowski was previously accused of calling women reporters late at night, possibly while intoxicated, and bullying rival campaign aides.