Paul Manafort resigned as chairman of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential campaign on Friday, Trump said, days after the Republican candidate effectively demoted him in a leadership shakeup aimed at boosting his struggling White House bid.
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The co-ordinated timing of all this would have been positive for the Trump campaign had it not been for Friday morning’s announcement that Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman and chief strategist, was resigning.
Controversial Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort has resigned his position.
The announcement marks the second time a Trump campaign manager leaves the campaign.
According to CNBC news, Manafort, 67, joined the campaign in March, and had clashed with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who was sacked three months later. In a speech, he expressed “regret” for sometimes not choosing the right words or saying the “wrong thing” in the heat of debate. “And Donald Trump has made it very clear who it is”.
“I think campaigns have different phases”, said Representative Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, one of the first House Republicans to back Trump. “And believe it or not, I regret it – and I do regret it – particularly where it may have caused personal pain”.
The report notes that Manafort’s exit “reflects the shifting power centers on the Trump campaign”. Kellyanne Conway, a veteran political campaign operative, was appointee the new campaign manager. “It was not me, that’s all Donald Trump”, she said. The Trump campaign chair had consulted for the Russian-backed Yanukovych in several elections.
The Trump campaign said Friday that Rick Gates, Manafort’s deputy, would now serve as its liaison to the Republican National Committee.
Lewandowski will not be rejoining the campaign, said a person familiar with the matter.
“We knew you would be here for us!” another shouted.
Conway also said that Trump “may” reach out to the Khan family personally.
The departure of the chairman marks the third major change in campaign leadership in the span of two months, and the latest course correction just 80 days before Election Day raises more questions about management, a key selling point of the businessman candidate.
The longtime Republican operative was considered a guiding hand in steering Mr Trump toward a more conventional campaign as opposed to the anti-establishment brand of politics that made his primary campaign successful. “I have done that”, the GOP nominee, reading from prepared text, said at a rally in Charlotte, N.C. Thursday night.
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Manafort has attracted controversy for his former ties to dictators across the world, and Ukranian politicians who are connected to Vladimir Putin.
