Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, resigned Friday, capping a week that saw yet another major staffing shake-up for the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign. I have done that. “And believe it or not, I regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain”.
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The Clinton campaign has pointed to Manafort’s work in Ukraine to add to its criticism of favorable comments that Trump has made about Russian President Vladimir Putin and to sow doubts in voters’ minds about whether the Russian government has an unseen hand in the USA election.
In the past week, Mr Trump has abandoned his shoot-from-the-hip style, instead using a teleprompter at every rally. Earlier Thursday, Trump moved to invest almost $5 million in battleground state advertising to address daunting challenges in the states that will make or break his White House ambitions.
The Trump campaign turmoil came as his team released its first campaign ad for November’s White House election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
“Donald Trump, bolstered by an overhauled campaign staff brought on to turn the page of his troubled candidacy, tried something totally new Thursday night: He expressed regret”.
With just under three months to go until Election Day, Manafort’s departure reflects the shifting power centers on the Trump campaign: After consolidating influence and discarding with Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Manafort has now found himself on the outs after Trump elevated two different aides to senior positions on Tuesday: Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon as campaign CEO and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager.
Marking yet another shift, Trump’s campaign purchased $4.9 million in paid television advertising set to begin on Friday in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, all states that Trump needs if he has any shot of defeating Clinton.
Manafort, a GOP campaign veteran, joined the Trump campaign in March to professionalize the operation, which had been run with very little money or organization. Everyone talks about, ‘Oh, well you’re going to pivot.’ I don’t want to pivot. He’s struggled to offer voters a consistent message, overshadowing formal policy speeches with a steady stream of controversies, including a public feud with an American Muslim family whose son was killed while serving in the USA military in Iraq. “To those hurting, I say: What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump?” the Republican nominee said.
This dual approach is going to be essential if Trump is going to recover among women voters after numerous demeaning comments, including remarks about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Ted Cruz’s wife Heidi Cruz and former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina.
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Meanwhile, supporters of Trump and Clinton diverge on how their life has become and where the country is heading for.
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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, said ahead of Trump’s visit that he wouldn’t be involved, adding that Trump is welcome, “but not for a photo-op”. The Aug. 14-18 online poll showed that Clinton was supported by 42 percent of Americans who are expected to vote, compared with 34 percent for Trump.
