In another freakish turn of events for this whirlwind of a 2016 Presidential Election, Paul Manafort has effectively resigned as the campaign manager for the Donald Trump presidential campaign.
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Manaford “has been a big proponent of the “pivot” – the effort to instill discipline into Trump’s rhetoric and encourage more outreach to skeptical Republicans”, as The Christian Science Monitor reported on Wednesday.
Mr Manafort, a former adviser to George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole, only joined the Trump campaign in March, to help the New Yorker secure the party’s nomination.
Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, should be questioned by Ukrainian investigators over nearly $13 million he allegedly received from a secret account for working on behalf of toppled President Viktor Yanukovych, a lawmaker said.
PHOTOS: Donald On Top! When Lewandowski was sacked in June, Manafort attempted to rein in some of Trump’s most controversial actions.
The New York businessman’s campaign reserved television ad space over the coming 10 days in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to Kantar Media’s political ad tracker.
“I have never received a single “off-the-books cash payment” as falsely “reported” by The New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russian Federation”, he said.
The man tasked with securing victory for Donald Trump has resigned after a week of damning stories about his questionable ties to pro-Russian interests were splashed across newspapers.
Trump’s trip to the state helps distance his candidacy from Manafort’s scandals, capitalizing on criticism of a vacationing President Obama, for not cutting short his vacation to visit the state in its time of crisis.
Others reported that Manafort left “on good terms” and that he wanted to give the new team space to carry out its new strategy.
Questions have arisen about Manafort’s previous work for the political party of the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
Manafort’s exit from Trump’s campaign is the second major departure in the past few months, with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski fired on June 20. And believe it or not, I regret it. Both had grown uncomfortable with Manafort, the person said.
Trump has not commented on the allegations in the Times article, however his son, Eric Trump, told Fox News that Manafort, while and “amazing” strategist, had become a “distraction”.
Manafort’s resignation continues the campaign’s shakeup, which started on Thursday and saw the promotion of Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager and the hiring of Breitbart executive Stephen K. Bannon as CEO of the campaign.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, center, comforts flood victim Olive Gordan with her husband Jimmy, right, during tour of their flood damaged home in Denham Springs, La., Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.
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While Manafort has insisted no wrongdoing in his Ukrainian business dealings, his resignation on Friday morning draws more speculation that there may in fact be some wrongdoings during his six years in the Ukraine.
