Questions have arisen about Manafort’s previous work for the political party of the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. The funds were routed through a London foundation, set up by a Ukrainian billionaire, to evade USA requirements that lobbyists for a foreign government register as agents of that government.
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“The reality is both are flawed and I wish we had a better choice”, she said.
With the departure of the second senior campaign official in as many months, Donald Trump’s bid for president is heading further into uncharted territory. Trump had repeatedly rebuffed Manafort’s urgings to run a conventional election campaign, refusing to spend money on either television advertising or campaign organization in the so-called battleground states, the dozen or so states that have been competitive between the Democrats and Republicans over the past half dozen presidential elections. “It’s just the beginning”, Mook said.
One person who isn’t sticking around to find out is Trump’s now ex-Campaign Chair Paul Manafort. Barack Obama came up several times and Clinton was mentioned once, but Trump?
Clinton took to Facebook to explain her own absence by saying that while her “heart breaks” for Louisiana, “right now the relief effort can’t afford any distractions”.
Trump’s softness on Putin surely reflects his admiration for strongmen; his longtime instinct to kowtow to powerful politicians who might be able to help his business; his distaste for allies who allegedly are ripping us off; and his appreciation for Putin’s perceived flattery of him.
In East Baton Rouge Parish, residents emerged from their homes to wave at Trump’s motorcade, some with gloved hands dirty from their house-gutting work.
When a woman thanked him for coming, rather than playing golf like the president has been doing during his New England vacation, Trump replied: “Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be”. Trumps first campaign manager, Lewandowski, was dismissed in June after he repeatedly clashed with the candidates children and failed to prepare for a delegate slog against hardened opposition within the Republican Party.
The campaign’s overall strategy and operations are now firmly under the sway of Stephen Bannon, a right-wing media executive, and Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster. The decision suggested to some that Trump might ramp up the divisive rhetoric that has angered minorities and alienated large swaths of the electorate. “And I think his new manager is female, which is kind of exciting, I guess, for some people”. Rarely do presidential campaigns wait to advertise, or undergo such leadership tumult, at such a late stage of the general election.
Later Friday, Trump fired up a rally in Dimondale, Michigan, with similarly blistering criticism and bluster. Leshchenko said these payments may be illegal because they were undisclosed and added that the source of the funds is also under investigation by the corruption bureau.
“Everyone talks about, ‘Oh are you going to pivot?’ I don’t want to pivot”. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won only six percent of the black vote.
Trump acknowledged that some of his statements “may have caused personal pain” and stressed that he feels regret for some of the comments he’s made in the campaign.
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The rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, was dominated however by a surprise change of tack for Trump, who said for the first time that he “regretted” misspeaking in the past and acknowledged his behaviour may be eclipsing the campaign’s core message. For instance, two days after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Mr. Trump tweeted a photo of himself eating a taco salad with the caption, “I love Hispanics!”
