President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien acknowledged Saturday that Americans aren’t seeing him “draining the swamp” as promised, calling increasingly frequent headlines about apparent corruption in the administration “ugly” — but not inaccurate.

Stepien joined a CNN “Table For Five” panel discussion hosted by Abby Phillip, who kicked things off with polling results highlighting the most important issues American voters have had during Trump’s second term.

“I want you to look at this,” she told Stepien. “Thirty-six percent in a CNBC poll recently said government corruption is their top issue. This is echoed by other polling that shows very similar results. It wasn’t always like this. Something has shifted where the corruption message really has broken through.”

She then asked Stepien what consequences, if any, the Trump administration might face.

“That poll was taken on the heels of the [Kimberly] Guilfoyle resignation and the week-long news cycle, which was really, really bad,” he said. “Yeah, I mean, we talked a lot about draining the swamp 10 years ago. People wonder what’s changed when they see headlines like Guilfoyle.

“It’s ugly. It’s given Democrats an opening.”

Guilfoyle was asked to resign earlier this month as U.S. ambassador to Greece amid allegations of misconduct and misappropriation of funds, according to The Wall Street Journal. Guilfoyle has publicly denied the allegations, but resigned on Oct. 13.

Fellow CNN guest Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House communications official under Trump, took the issue further, noting that the Department of Justice is currently investigating longtime Trump aide Corey Lewandowski for alleged corruption.

Lewandowski has been accused of trying to “sell government services for personal gain” during his time as a “special government employee” under Trump and the right hand of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Journal reported Wednesday.

“And, of course, everybody knows how much money the Trump family and the president himself has made in the last two years,” Phillip interjected, referring to the enormous amount of wealth that Trump and his sons have accumulated. “So yeah, it’s top of mind for everyone.”

Trump long vowed to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington, D.C., and to “Make America Great Again” by avoiding foreign military entanglements and prioritizing domestic infrastructure projects — before imposing debilitating tariffs and launching a war on Iran.

The Journal noted Wednesday that the Lewandowski probe was launched after a “referral” from DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, marking the “first publicly known instance of Trump’s second-term Justice Department scrutinizing someone close to the president.”

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.