The overhaul marked Trump’s second top-level shake-up in two months, and comes as the GOP nominee faces what increasingly appears to be an uphill general election race against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
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Bannon, a frequent adviser to Trump, is known for his brass-knuckled demeanor and his website’s sharp tone. It also said Kellyanne Conway, who has been an adviser, will take on the role of campaign manager. The New York Times earlier this week reported that Manafort was slated to receive almost $13 million from a pro-Russian political party. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Manafort helped the party secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to a pair of prominent Washington lobbying firms. Ted Cruz before advising the Trump campaign.
“He believes he should stay true to what got him this far”, said David Bossie, the leader of a pro-Trump super PAC.
This change makes me wonder if Michael Moore is right when he says Trump doesn’t really want to be president.
In keeping with Mr. Trump’s expressed desire to be himself-as he put it Tuesday in a Wisconsin TV interview, “I am who I am…” Both of the new hires will outrank Manafort. The Republican languishes behind her in virtually every key battleground state, raising the prospect of a Clinton landslide win. 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 military in Iraq. Fox News host Sean Hannity, a self-described Trump supporter, has frequently hosted the candidate on his show – often for the full hour – and given him free reign to address supporters unchallenged.
“There is no new Donald Trump“, Clinton said.
“We’re adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November”, Trump said in a statement. Republicans say he’s grown angry with his sinking poll numbers and frustrated that many GOP lawmakers remain skeptical of his candidacy.
Trump vented his frustration during a weekend fundraiser in the Hamptons. Bannon ultimately became chairman of Breitbart News.
While there has been little reaction to Conway’s appointment just yet, Trump’s critics have pounced on the hiring of Bannon.
Manafort will maintain his current title, Trump said, but the shakeup nevertheless represents a demotion for the man who formally took the reins following the departure of Corey Lewandowski in June.
Conway is a veteran GOP strategist whose prior clients include Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and unsuccessful Senate candidate Todd Akin of Missouri, who created headlines in 2012 by arguing that women couldn’t get pregnant when they were raped because their bodies shut down. In recent months Breitbart has celebrated moments when Trump’s rhetoric has hewed closely to the site’s editorial position.
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But Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina called Trump’s move a good prescription for anxious congressional Republicans. Shapiro resigned earlier this year, charging Breitbart had “abandoned and undercut” its reporter Michelle Fields, who claimed to have been manhandled by Trump’s then-campaign chief Cory Lewandowsky.
