Trump shakes up campaign with new manager, chief exec
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign once again as recent polls suggest that he is losing to Hillary Clinton in several key battleground states.
Trump announced Wednesday that pollster Kellyanne Conway was promoted to campaign manager and Stephen Bannon, the co-founder of Breitbart News, was named campaign chief executive.
“I have known Steve and Kellyanne both for many years. They are extremely capable, highly qualified people who love to win and know how to win,” Trump said in a statement. “I am committed to doing whatever it takes to win this election, and ultimately become President because our country cannot afford four more years of the failed Obama-Clinton policies which have endangered our financial and physical security.”
Conway told Fox News that “everyone else” on the campaign will remain in place.
“This is an expansion during the busy homestretch in the campaign,” she added.
Trump said in the statement that Paul Manafort, who took over following the departure of Corey Lewandowski in June, will maintain his current title and work closely with Conway and Bannon on the campaign moving forward.
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“It is imperative we continue to expand our team with top-tier talent,” Manafort was quoted as saying in the statement. “Steve and Kellyanne are respected professionals who believe in Mr. Trump and his message and will undoubtedly help take the campaign to new levels of success.”
A senior Trump campaign source told Fox News that Rick Gates’ title has been elevated to deputy campaign manager.
Though Trump resisted repeated calls from fellow Republicans to change his approach on the campaign trail that has powered his surge to the top of the GOP field in the primary season, recent poll numbers have showed that Clinton has a sizeable lead in several key states and only shrinks if third party candidates are considered. It could force Trump to pivot as the campaign moves forward.
"You know, I am who I am," he told a local Wisconsin television station Tuesday. "It's me. I don't want to change. Everyone talks about, 'Oh, well you're going to pivot, you're going to.' I don't want to pivot. I mean, you have to be you. If you start pivoting, you're not being honest with people."
The Associated Press reported that the moves were discussed at a lengthy senior staff meeting at Trump Tower Tuesday while the billionaire mogul was on the road. Additional senior hires are expected to come in the next few days.
Trump, whose campaign is built on his persona as a winner, said several time that the campaign is "doing well," and said his speech hours earlier in WisconsinTuesday was well-received.
"We're going to be doing something very dramatic," Trump added.
In the Wisconsin outing, Trump accused Clinton of "bigotry" and being "against the police," claiming that she and other Democrats have "betrayed the African American community" and pandered for votes.
"We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes — that's all they care about," the GOP nominee said in remarks delivered not far from Milwaukee — the latest city to be rocked by violence in the wake of a police shooting.
Trump has been lagging in the polls since he was crowned the GOP standard-bearer in Cleveland last month. He charged that Clinton has been on the side of the rioters in Milwaukee, declaring: "Our opponent Hillary would rather protect the offender than the victim."
"The riots and destruction that have taken place in Milwaukee is an assault on the right of all citizens to live in security and to live in peace," he said.
Clinton campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri responded with a statement early Wednesday accusing Trump of being the bigot instead.
"With each passing Trump attack, it becomes clearer that his strategy is just to say about Hillary Clinton what's true of himself. When people started saying he was temperamentally unfit, he called Hillary the same. When his ties to the Kremlin came under scrutiny, he absurdly claimed that Hillary was the one who was too close to Putin. Now he's accusing her of bigoted remarks -- We think the American people will know which candidate is guilty of the charge," she said.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign once again as recent polls suggest that he is losing to Hillary Clinton in several key battleground states.
Trump announced Wednesday that pollster Kellyanne Conway was promoted to campaign manager and Stephen Bannon, the co-founder of Breitbart News, was named campaign chief executive.
“I have known Steve and Kellyanne both for many years. They are extremely capable, highly qualified people who love to win and know how to win,” Trump said in a statement. “I am committed to doing whatever it takes to win this election, and ultimately become President because our country cannot afford four more years of the failed Obama-Clinton policies which have endangered our financial and physical security.”
Conway told Fox News that “everyone else” on the campaign will remain in place.
“This is an expansion during the busy homestretch in the campaign,” she added.
Trump said in the statement that Paul Manafort, who took over following the departure of Corey Lewandowski in June, will maintain his current title and work closely with Conway and Bannon on the campaign moving forward.
2016 Election Headquarters
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics.
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“It is imperative we continue to expand our team with top-tier talent,” Manafort was quoted as saying in the statement. “Steve and Kellyanne are respected professionals who believe in Mr. Trump and his message and will undoubtedly help take the campaign to new levels of success.”
A senior Trump campaign source told Fox News that Rick Gates’ title has been elevated to deputy campaign manager.
Though Trump resisted repeated calls from fellow Republicans to change his approach on the campaign trail that has powered his surge to the top of the GOP field in the primary season, recent poll numbers have showed that Clinton has a sizeable lead in several key states and only shrinks if third party candidates are considered. It could force Trump to pivot as the campaign moves forward.
"You know, I am who I am," he told a local Wisconsin television station Tuesday. "It's me. I don't want to change. Everyone talks about, 'Oh, well you're going to pivot, you're going to.' I don't want to pivot. I mean, you have to be you. If you start pivoting, you're not being honest with people."
The Associated Press reported that the moves were discussed at a lengthy senior staff meeting at Trump Tower Tuesday while the billionaire mogul was on the road. Additional senior hires are expected to come in the next few days.
Trump, whose campaign is built on his persona as a winner, said several time that the campaign is "doing well," and said his speech hours earlier in WisconsinTuesday was well-received.
"We're going to be doing something very dramatic," Trump added.
In the Wisconsin outing, Trump accused Clinton of "bigotry" and being "against the police," claiming that she and other Democrats have "betrayed the African American community" and pandered for votes.
"We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton, which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes — that's all they care about," the GOP nominee said in remarks delivered not far from Milwaukee — the latest city to be rocked by violence in the wake of a police shooting.
Trump has been lagging in the polls since he was crowned the GOP standard-bearer in Cleveland last month. He charged that Clinton has been on the side of the rioters in Milwaukee, declaring: "Our opponent Hillary would rather protect the offender than the victim."
"The riots and destruction that have taken place in Milwaukee is an assault on the right of all citizens to live in security and to live in peace," he said.
Clinton campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri responded with a statement early Wednesday accusing Trump of being the bigot instead.
"With each passing Trump attack, it becomes clearer that his strategy is just to say about Hillary Clinton what's true of himself. When people started saying he was temperamentally unfit, he called Hillary the same. When his ties to the Kremlin came under scrutiny, he absurdly claimed that Hillary was the one who was too close to Putin. Now he's accusing her of bigoted remarks -- We think the American people will know which candidate is guilty of the charge," she said.
