The appointments amounted to a demotion for Paul Manafort, who was brought on as campaign manager earlier this year to professionalise Mr Trump’s campaign, but has struggled to get the NY businessman to rein in his freewheeling ways. But Trump refused to be managed.
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Trump’s campaign said Bannon’s position will involve oversight of staff and “major campaign initiatives”, while Conway will focus on “messaging” and frequently travel with the candidate.
In an announcement Wednesday, the Trump-Pence campaign said two new Georgia staff members, including a senior advisor, will be “dedicated to keeping the state in the Republican win column”. “This latest shake-up turns his campaign over to someone who’s best known for running a so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories”.
Some Utah Republicans are already exploring alternatives like Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, who’s based his campaign in Salt Lake City, or Evan McMullin, a relatively unknown ex-CIA officer and Brigham Young University graduate who has managed to get on the ballot in Utah and a few other states. Instead, the official said the campaign will be unpredictable and won’t follow the standard playbook.
The hiring of Bannon, whose Breitbart news organization loudly defended Trump amidst some of his most personal and bruising campaign fights, may indicate a “let Trump be Trump” mindset has won out within the upper echelons of the Trump campaign. “In the coming weeks we should expect to see more. hateful rhetoric”.
Clinton said at a voter registration event at a Philadelphia high school that she’s “not taking anybody anywhere for granted” in the race for the White House. Trump saw a bump after the Republican National Convention in July, but Clinton quickly regained her lead after the Democratic National Convention the following week.
“He can hire and fire anyone he wants”. “They appreciate he’s not a scripted politician, but there’s a recognition that words do matter”. “But he is still the same man who insults Gold Star families, demeans women, mocks people with disabilities and thinks he knows more about ISIS than our generals”.
Hillary Clinton will be briefed, too.
“We’re going to be doing something very dramatic”, Trump added. “They’re prepared for the antics”.
His installation at the top of the Trump campaign offers fresh evidence that the GOP nominee has no intention of reining in his brash, outsider’s style or cozying up to the GOP establishment despite his campaign’s recent struggles. We will be responsive.
“I think people just looked at it and said, ‘Well, sure”.
Justin Barasky, communications director of pro-Clinton super-PAC Priorities USA Action, said his group will also stay on course.
“We need to work together to bridge our divides, not stoke even more divisiveness”, Clinton said at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Trump has largely resisted those pleas and the latest staff changes appear to be a rejection of Manafort’s attempt to tame Trump. Bannon’s website has been fiercely loyal to Trump for months and sharply critical of Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.
He said it’s an open question whether Trump, in turning to Bannon, can use the Internet “as an animating structure” for his campaign without embracing more traditional methods involving party structure, get-out-the-vote efforts and a political ground game.
Unafraid to play favourites, Breitbart early previous year prominently featured positive stories about Ted Cruz, including an exclusive behind-the-scenes photo shoot with his family the night before the Texas senator announced his presidential run.
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As a sign of confidence, Clinton’s campaign recently paused advertising in Virginia and Colorado, while Priorities stopped ads in Virginia and plans to pause them in Colorado and Pennsylvania at the beginning of September.
