Trump campaign worker resigns over Lewandowski tweet

NEW YORK, June 21 (UPI) -- A communications aide to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump resigned after sending out a celebratory tweet in the wake of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's firing.

Michael Caputo, who was in charge of communications for caucus operations, at the Republican National Convention next month, tweeted out a picture and video link to a scene from The Wizard of Oz, when a house falls on the Wicked Witch of the West.

The tweet, posted Monday, included the caption: "Dong dong the witch is dead!"

Caputo, a veteran political strategist who's worked on four previous presidential campaigns, told Politico he made an "unforced error" and tendered his resignation to campaign chairman Paul Manafort immediately.

"Unforced errors have no place on a general election campaign for the White House. It's my fourth American presidential; if you've been here before, you know falling on the sword is what you do if you mess up," Caputo said.

The bad blood behind the tweet had been simmering for months on the Trump campaign, as multiple media reports indicated Lewandowski had become a divisive figure on the staff.

Lewandowski led Trump's primary campaign, overseeing a bare bones staff while employing unconventional political tactics that enabled Trump to shoot to the top of a crowded Republican primary field and ultimately become the party's nominee.

But misgivings lingered. The New York Times reported in the wake of Lewandowski's firing that Trump's children played a role in convincing their father Lewandowski needed to be dismissed because he had become too divisive a figure on the campaign.

The dismissal happened after a meeting at Trump Tower that included Trump's two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump.

Among the problems with Lewandowski: a festering feud with Manafort about their seemingly conflicting roles as campaign chairman and campaign manager, and a poor working relationship with staff at the Republican National Committee, which has stepped in to run the nuts-and-bolts parts of the campaign while Trump assembled a larger staff for the general election under Lewandowski's leadership.

The embattled campaign manager made headlines himself during the primary season, when he grabbed a former Breitbart reporter, Michelle Fields, during a press event. Lewandowski and Trump both denied the incident happened despite photos from Fields showing bruises on her arm from the encounter.

Florida police eventually filed a charge of simple battery, but it was later dropped.

Lewandowski did a round of interviews on Monday after his dismissal, saying he still supported Trump's candidacy. He told CNN he had not been given a reason for his firing.

He said he will "do everything I can" to ensure Trump's victory in the fall.