The furthest Lewandowski would go: “I think the president very much respects the Republican Party. He is very engaged with the Republican National Committee and helps them raise a lot of money and understands that having Republicans controlling Congress is a fundamentally different thing than having Democrats.”

“When you are fighting the establishment—not just the Democrats, but there are some within the party and the deep state,” Bossie said, “you’re going to fight all of that and you’re going to get some people, even in your own party, who don’t like what you’re doing.”