Now that Paul Manafort is out of the Donald Trump campaign as of Friday morning, it was inevitable that CNN would have their very own Corey Lewandowski – the campaign’s first manager – on to discuss the developments. “Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success”.
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He was considered to be on his last legs on the campaign after the recent hirings of Breitbart’s Steve Bannon and GOP campaign strategist Kellyanne Conway, who both assumed high-ranking roles in the Trump Campaign.
He had also been viewed with trepidation by Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and a major force within the campaign, the New York Times reported.
The head of Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Artem Sytnyk, said that more than US$12 million (S$16 million) was earmarked for payment to Manafort from 2007 to 2012, although it was not clear if he received the money.
Paul Manafort has quit as Donald Trump’s campaign chair.
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.
Manafort’s resignation could be another sign that the Trump campaign is struggling. Manafort had been brought in initially at Kushner’s urging, the source said.
Manafort resigned in wake of campaign shakeup and revelations about Ukraine work.
Lewandowski’s assessment came after Eric Trump suggested that Manafort left due to his relationship with pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians, though Trump did not mention Manafort’s overseas ties directly.
“You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn’t end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin”, Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Although the hiring of Bannon was taken as a signal that Trump would not hold back in his aggressive, unorthodox campaign manner, Trump offered rare words of regret on Thursday for causing offense with his take-no-prisoners style. A new campaign manager and executive were named earlier this week. “Our border open.” In contrast, “Donald Trump’s America is secure”, it says.
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“I’m not sure the public pays a lot of attention to inside campaign stories”, she said.
