From the introduction of a teleprompter in the spring to his decision to fire campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in favor of the more polished Manafort in June – while promising to tamp down the rhetoric and offer a leaner cut of red meat to his supporters – the Trump operation has never been able to overcome or match the candidate himself.
Advertisement
Manafort has come under scrutiny in recent days over his alleged ties with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine.
Trump announced Friday on Twitter he accepted Manafort’s resignation, though he did not say why. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process”.
“I think my father didn’t want to be, you know, distracted by whatever things Paul was dealing with”, Eric Trump said.
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 allegations about the payments were first made in The New York Times on Monday.
NAUERT: On the other hand though, you could argue that Paul Manafort had been a real distraction, that news about accepting the millions of dollars from that pro-Russian party in the Ukraine. His inclusion was seen as an overture of sorts to establishment figures and GOP tradition, as Manafort had directed Bob Dole’s convention and strategy in 1996 and was seen as a party veteran.
The head of Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Artem Sytnyk, said this week that more than $12 million was earmarked for payment to Manafort from 2007 to 2012, although it was not clear if he received the money.
His resignation comes amid a broader campaign staff shake-up that earlier this week saw Trump bring Stephen Bannon, a conservative media firebrand, onboard as a top campaign executive.
Donald Trump on Thursday expressed regret on the campaign trail, saying some of his remarks have caused “personal pain”. But he also explained his rejection of tradition.
NAUERT: Well, you know, he got a lot of kudos for last night sort of apologizing in a sense and saying that he regrets some of his comments. I have worked in business, creating jobs and rebuilding neighborhoods my entire adult life. “Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues”, he said. It also came as the campaign launched its first ad buys in four battleground states. The spots, though, seem created to rally the Republican base rather than make overtures to other constituencies, as they focus on immigration and refugee policy.
Around the same time Friday, Trump and running mate Mike Pence arrived in Louisiana to survey the state’s flood-damaged region, quietly touring a number of hard-hit neighborhoods.
When a woman thanked him for coming, rather than playing golf like the president has been doing during his New England vacation, Trump replied: “Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn’t be”. This includes occassional Trump critics like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was among the 2014 leaders Bannon called a “c**t”, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose Trump-esque challenger in the Wisconsin primary Breitbart heavily supported.
Advertisement
He will be in MI on Friday evening, and has a rally in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Saturday.
