Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, on Friday suggested that Paul Manafort left the Trump campaign due to recent reports on his ties to Ukraine, citing comments Eric Trump made earlier in the day.
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Paul Manafort’s resignation leaves behind a flailing campaign, as the Republican nominee trails behind competitor Hillary Clinton in both national polls and in key battleground states.
Campaign sources said that Trump had been unhappy with Manafort for a variety of reasons.
In a statement Friday morning, Trump said that Manafort offered his resignation.
“I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today”, he added. “Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success”. In the latest dripping of allegations reported on Thursday by the AP, emails were uncovered that Manafort and Gates “directly” orchestrated the covert lobbying operation to sway and influence public opinion in favor of the pro-Russian Ukrainian government.
Lewandowski had advocated a “Let Trump be Trump” strategy, while Manafort, a veteran of Republican politics, had tried to get the NY tycoon to tone down his harsh rhetoric.
The decision, though, didn’t come as suddenly as the official statement implied and according to New York Times writers Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin, Trump’s final straw may have been an article in their newspaper detailing the campaign’s internal issues with Trump.
“Donald J. Trump went Thursday night where Donald J. Trump, the candidate, seemed to have never gone before: He expressed broad regret about some of his caustic language during the campaign”.
It came in a week when Trump has already reshuffled top campaign leaders, effectively demoting Manafort, and has tried to be more disciplined and on message as he seeks to reset his campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for the November 8 election.
“Every time she’s asked about a policy position of her own, she takes an opportunity to insult Donald Trump”.
Manafort also leaves the campaign amid a rising number of news reports about his past work for pro-Russian political elements in Ukraine, including stories of millions in secret cash payments that Manafort has denied.
Manafort denied any wrongdoing, saying he had “never received a single ‘off-the books cash payment, ‘” or worked for the governments of Ukraine or Russian Federation.
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Party of Regions was Ukraine’s ruling political party until early 2014, when Kremlin-friendly now former-President Vikctor Yanukovych was toppled amid mass protests calling for the country to move closer to the West. That might indicate that it was the messenger – Manafort – more than the message that was causing Trump discomfort. “And I do regret it – particularly where it may have caused personal pain”.
