Trump suggested in an interview last month that he supported Russia’s invasion of Crimea, and language in the Republican Party platform that referenced supporting Ukrainian nationalists was removed.
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The campaign pulled another unexpected move by accepting the resignation of campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Friday morning (Aug. 19). Trump went on to say he appreciated Manafort’s work on the campaign and wished him great success.
As CNBC’s John Harwood noted, it’s “not insane for voters to wonder what continuous campaign turmoil says about Trump’s ability to be chief executive of United States government”.
“Despite today’s latest staff shake-up, Donald Trump’s campaign still maintains strong ties to Russian Federation and pro-Kremlin elements”. “And believe it or not, I regret it”.
Manafort’s resignation came just days after the campaign named Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon as its chief executive and The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend President Kellyanne Conway as its campaign manager.
“I’ve known him since we were in college, he’s a first-class person, he’s an wonderful individual and he has been the lead architect in trying to seamlessly put together the institutional side of this campaign”, Barrack said.
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities are investigating the political strategist after documents revealed possible secret payments allocated to Manafort to the tune of more than $12.7 million (11.21 million euros) from Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin Party of Regions. “You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn’t end the odd bromance Trump has with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.
Manafort’s undisclosed links to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych have come at a hard time for Trump as his rating have fallen over the past few weeks and he has been criticised for focusing on personal attacks rather than policy in the lead up to the November election.
This is the latest, and most significant, of a number of recent changes in Donald Trump’s campaign staff.
A hotel developer with no previous experience of politics, Mr Trump stunned the political world by beating far more experienced figures in the Republican party.
In May, Manafort took on a new role as campaign chairman and chief strategist. Manafort had said on several occasions he didn’t plan to be paid for his work for Trump. In a statement, Trump thanked Manafort for his help on getting the nomination.
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In another sign of a new direction in the campaign, Trump on Thursday made an unusual admission of regret for some of his past comments.
