Donald Trump’s supporters shrug off reports about the Republican nominee’s sinking campaign, saying the media, pollsters and the establishment are working overtime against the political maverick.
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Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort announced his resignation today (Friday). “He did a great job with the delegates, you know, and you know, now you look at KellyAnne (Trump’s new campaign manager) and some of the other people we’re bringing in and they’re absolutely fantastic, and you know, I think they’re gonna be the ones that are going to bring us all the way through November 8”, he said.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Manafort’s firm orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s then-ruling political party.
It has always been known that Manafort used to work as a consultant to Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president who was ousted for his pro-Moscow stance.
The New York Times this week reported Manafort’s name was found on secret ledgers showing cash payments designated to him of more than $12 million from a Ukrainian party with Russian ties.
Trump’s corporate attorney, who is not officially part of the campaign but does interviews, denied his boss is trailing.
A senior Trump campaign aide added later Friday that Trump lost faith in Manafort a couple of weeks ago, feeling like Manafort wasn’t quick enough with answers to his questions, instead offering to look into an issue or get him a report on it. Trump doesn’t want people around him who he thinks are moving too slowly, the aide said.
“Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing”, Trump told backers in Charlotte, N.C. Polling averages show both states are safely within Trump’s cap and aren’t likely to flip to Clinton.
“I’ve known him since we were in college, he’s a first-class person, he’s an unbelievable individual and he has been the lead architect in trying to seamlessly put together the institutional side of this campaign”, Barrack said. The new disclosures about their work come as Trump faces criticism for his friendly overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Current and former employees at Mercury and the Podesta Group, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they are subject to non-disclosure agreements, told the AP that Manafort oversaw the lobbying efforts and spoke about them by phone.
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. After three staff overhauls in five months, and a campaign operation that’s generally been in disarray for much of the year, Team Trump appears to lack any kind of cohesion or direction – which only reinforces concerns about the kind of White House the amateur candidate would run.
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Manafort’s role in the Trump campaign was marginalized earlier this week with the hiring of Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon, who is now CEO of the campaign, and the promotion of Kellyanne Conway, who is now the campaign manager. Campaign sources said that Trump had been unhappy with Manafort for a variety of reasons. They also worked to gather political intelligence on competing lobbying efforts.
