Trump fires his campaign manager in dramatic shake-up

[webfact]

Trump fires his campaign manager in dramatic shake-up
By JILL COLVIN and STEVE PEOPLES

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump abruptly fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Monday in a dramatic shake-up designed to calm panicked Republican leaders and end an internal power struggle plaguing the billionaire businessman's unconventional White House bid.

In dismissing his longtime campaign chief — just a month before the party's national convention, Trump signaled, at least for a day, a departure from the seat-of-the-pants style that has fueled his unlikely rise in Republican politics. Perhaps more than anyone else in Trump's inner circle, the ousted aide has preached a simple mantra: "Let Trump be Trump."

"I have no regrets," Lewandowski told CNN, just hours after he was escorted out of Trump's Manhattan campaign headquarters. Still, the former conservative activist seemed to acknowledge the limitations of his approach, which has sparked widespread concern among the GOP's top donors, operatives, elected officials, and even some of Trump's family members.

"The campaign needs to continue to grow to be successful," he said.

Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, did not address the move publicly on Monday. Spokeswoman Hope Hicks described the departure merely as a "parting of ways."

A person close to Trump said Lewandowski was forced out largely because of the campaign's worsening relationship with the Republican National Committee, donors and GOP officials, who have increasingly criticized the candidate in recent weeks. That person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.

While Trump dismissed his critics publicly, he has been privately concerned that so many party leaders — House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell among them — have been reluctant to support him, the person said. Trump at least partially blamed Lewandowski.

People close to Trump, including adult children Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr., also had long-simmering concerns about Lewandowski, who had limited experience on the national scale before becoming Trump's campaign leader. Some of them were among those urging the billionaire businessman to change tactics for the general election.

"Firing your campaign manager in June is never a good thing," said veteran Republican operative Kevin Madden. "The campaign will have to show dramatic changes immediately on everything from fundraising and organizing to candidate performance and discipline in order to demonstrate there's been a course correction. Otherwise it's just cosmetics."

Lewandowski's chief internal rival, campaign chairman Paul Manafort, largely inherits the campaign reins. The political veteran has long advocated a more scripted approach backed by a larger and more professional campaign apparatus, although Trump has shown little willingness to embrace a wholesale change in his approach.

Lewandowski, speaking to The Associated Press, noted that Manafort actually has been in charge of major campaign functions, including media strategy and Washington outreach, for months.

"Paul Manafort has been in operational control of the campaign since April 7. That's a fact," Lewandowski said.

Lewandowski has long been a controversial figure in Trump's campaign, but he benefited from his proximity to the presumptive Republican nominee. Often mistaken for a member of the candidate's security team, he traveled with Trump on his private plane to nearly every campaign stop.

His aggressive approach produced internal enemies.

Just minutes after his departure was announced, Trump adviser Michael Caputo tweeted, "Ding dong the witch is dead!" and included a link to the song from the film, "The Wizard of Oz."

A few hours later, Caputo was gone, too. The aide was to have served as Trump's director of communications at next month's convention, but Hicks confirmed late in the day that he was no longer with the campaign.

The public airing of internal campaign turmoil comes as Democrats rally behind their presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state has already assembled a national campaign with hundreds of paid staffers backed by millions of dollars in battleground-state television advertising. Trump has roughly 30 paid employees working in key states and isn't spending anything so far on television advertising.

The shakeup came a day before Trump was to attend a major New York City fundraiser, organized by longtime GOP financier Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets. Trump will spend part of Tuesday and Wednesday at finance events in his home city.

Fundraisers have encountered turbulence between worried donors and a campaign manager who did not seem fully onboard with the idea that Trump and the party needed to buckle down and raise the money needed to build a robust general election operation.

Republican strategist Ryan Williams, a frequent Trump critic, said Lewandowski's dismissal "is the first major public admission from Donald Trump that his campaign is not going well."

"Now Trump needs to demonstrate that he is willing to change his own approach by toning down his rhetoric and becoming a more disciplined general election candidate," Williams said.

Trump publicly backed Lewandowski last spring when he was charged with misdemeanor battery after an altercation involving a female reporter during a campaign rally. The charges were later dropped.

"Folks, look, I'm a loyal person," Trump declared at the time.

Yet, under the weight of dismal poll numbers, many of Trump's supporters recognized a need to make a change.

"It's got to become much more disciplined and much more focused and much more organized and have a bigger structure," said Stephen Stepanek, Trump's New Hampshire co-chair. "I think the campaign, for lack of a better word, outgrew Corey."

___

AP writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Julie Bykowicz in Washington and Kathleen Ronayne in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-21

[ezzra]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

[freebyrd]

He should do the world a favour. Fire himself, buy and island as far away from the rest of humanity as possible and stay there for the rest of his days and have no communication with the outside world. The world doesn't need people like Trump, it doesn't need politicians like him and it certainly doesn't need a trigger happy leader of the free world to fire off at the mouth before their brain is in gear.

[cdnvic]

Off topic posts removed. This is for discussing the replacing of Trump's campaign manager.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

So Trump is blaming his manager for letting "Trump be Trump"?

So even Trump admits that it is stupid to let Trump be himself? That says volumes!!

Of course Trump will assume no responsibility for his own actions.

Fire yourself a-hole!!!

[Pinot]

Over there in the Trump camp, everyone is happy to see this guy go. It won't any difference.

It's over before it begins. It will be interesting to see how bad this beat down is going to be.

[kmj]

So much for loyalty... not much different to most politicians.

[boomerangutang]

Trump should fire himself. He's his own worst campaigner.

Just kidding. Keep talking and blustering Trump. We love it. Don't be shy, ....and teleprompters are for wimps, remember you said that?

Jeez, being campaign manager for the Divider is like being alpine skiing coach for Samoa. It's tough to lead a campaign when the poster boy keeps shooting everyone's feet.

[smotherb]

Where are all the Trump supporters?

[tropo]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

[Radar501]

I hope the moment of dismissal was as dramatic as it often was on his TV show.

The campaign manager had a surname eerily like Monica Lewinski's. That's not him squatting under the desk. is it?

Edited June 21, 2016 by Radar501

[boomerangutang]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

[tropo]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

Yada yada... He only did this, he only did that... He has made history already even if he doesn't make it all the way. Haters gonna hate. A lot of the haters are really just envious. He most certainly is NOT his own worst enemy - which is what I was commenting on.

[stevenl]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

Yada yada... He only did this, he only did that... He has made history already even if he doesn't make it all the way. Haters gonna hate. A lot of the haters are really just envious. He most certainly is NOT his own worst enemy - which is what I was commenting on.

Yes, haters are gonna hate, and Trump and the GOP establishment have one thing in common: they hate.

[NumbNut]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up

as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing

so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance

to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

Yada yada... He only did this, he only did that... He has made history already even if he doesn't make it all the way. Haters gonna hate. A lot of the haters are really just envious. He most certainly is NOT his own worst enemy - which is what I was commenting on.

Haters gotta hate? Oh, the irony... the Farce is strong in this one!

[dutchisaan]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up
as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing
so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance
to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

Yada yada... He only did this, he only did that... He has made history already even if he doesn't make it all the way. Haters gonna hate. A lot of the haters are really just envious. He most certainly is NOT his own worst enemy - which is what I was commenting on.

Yes, haters are gonna hate, and Trump and the GOP establishment have one thing in common: they hate.

You left one thing out, the trump supporters hate probely even more.

[boomerangutang]

I can already hear what Trump will be saying on November 9th:

"Crooked Hillary outspent us. That's the only reason we lost, folks. Believe me, that's the only reason."

[dunroaming]

Simple, he was told to dump Lewandowski if he wanted the backing of the republican hierarchy. The only way forward is for him to fall into line and do as he is told. Can't imagine that is something that Trump will be happy to do somehow.

More popcorn over here please!

[Chicog]

Surprisingly, Lewandowski is on Fox kissing his former boss's ar$e.

Must have got a lovely pay off to hide the truth.

[Publicus]

Simple, he was told to dump Lewandowski if he wanted the backing of the republican hierarchy. The only way forward is for him to fall into line and do as he is told. Can't imagine that is something that Trump will be happy to do somehow.

More popcorn over here please!

Republican and Republican sourced money.

Hundreds of millions of the green.

It's not enough but it is a hellovalot better than the $2.5 million cash Trump has on hand at the moment.

Institutional Republicans saw and knew Trump had no financing and certainly nothing that would finance a campaign for Potus. They let Trump run his accounts to the bone and now they've moved in on him. The R party bigwigs are giving Trump his orders now in return for the bucks Trump needs.

Paul Manifort goes back deeply into the R party, all the way back to Reagan. More recently Manifort worked Ukraine for Putin's loser guy Yushchenko. Congress at the time questioned Manifort's national loyalties. John McCain bailed on Manifort in the process. So stay tuned.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Publicus

[tropo]

The man is his own worst enemy, this, and his big mouth that doesn't know when to shut up
as less in more, and the more he talks, the deeper he's digging his political grave, and by doing
so, he simply hand the victory to Clinton, all she has to do is just watch him murdering his chance
to win by his own devices......

The guy achieves the impossible besting 16 GOP candidates and making history and you call him "his own worst enemy".

Note: he only got the most votes AMONG REPUBLICAN VOTERS. The majority of voters haven't yet voted on The Divider.

The hard-right Republican instigator of Fox News (Ailes) has a quote that describes Republican voters:

"Two guys go on to a stage to debate. One says, "I have a solution for the problems in the Middle East" The other guy falls off the stage into the orchestra pit. Guess which one is going to make the next day's newspaper headlines?"

Trump is the guy who figuratively fell off the stage. He was already a reality TV show star (famous for saying 'you're fired!'). Then he went on to out-shout and put-down all his Republican rivals. Republican rednecks voters lapped it up like dogs on a pile of beef burritos. That's why he got the Republican nod.

Yada yada... He only did this, he only did that... He has made history already even if he doesn't make it all the way. Haters gonna hate. A lot of the haters are really just envious. He most certainly is NOT his own worst enemy - which is what I was commenting on.

Haters gotta hate? Oh, the irony... the Farce is strong in this one!

There's only one thing of strength here... your hate. Haters spend day and night trying to belittle his achievements. I'm not a US citizen so the outcome doesn't matter to me but it's hilarious to see all the haters squirming.

[boomerangutang]

Surprisingly, Lewandowski is on Fox kissing his former boss's ar$e. Must have got a lovely pay off to hide the truth.

Every time Trump loses a lawsuit (it's happened hundreds of times) he always gets the winner to sign a non-disclosure promise. That's why we're not hearing details about the many lawsuits he's lost. Similarly, it's certain Trump had his former campaign manager agree/sign something similar. Something like, "I promise I won't say anything about Trump and won't reveal any secrets or policies we discussed while I was campaign manager."

Haters gotta hate? Oh, the irony... the Farce is strong in this one!

There's only one thing of strength here... your hate. Haters spend day and night trying to belittle his achievements. I'm not a US citizen so the outcome doesn't matter to me but it's hilarious to see all the haters squirming.

There's a big difference between discerning the drawbacks/failings of a candidate, ....and hate. Most of those against Trump being prez are also in favor of a strong USA. When the US is secure, then the rest of the world benefits, .....by donations (Americans are, by far, the most charitable people ww). But it's more than what Americans do with money and with trying to protect oppressed peoples ww. It's about friendships. With presidents like Carter, Bill Clinton and Obama, the US cemented many genuine friendships with other world leaders. With Republican presidents, the story is checkered. With someone like Trump, many friendships will get strained to the breaking point. Heck, Trump alienated the Pope for Kryssaykes! Who alienates the Pope? He's easier to get along with than your granma with her chocolate chip cookies. Trump would offend dishwashers, if given the chance. And he's actually done that. One of the thousands of lawsuits Trump has lost, was with a group of dishwashers at a Trump event who claimed they didn't get paid as promised.

As usual (as in all Trump lawsuits), it was settled with a disclaimer, forcing the winning side (the workers) to never discuss details of the case.

[stevenl]

Surprisingly, Lewandowski is on Fox kissing his former boss's ar$e. Must have got a lovely pay off to hide the truth.

Every time Trump loses a lawsuit (it's happened hundreds of times) he always gets the winner to sign a non-disclosure promise. That's why we're not hearing details about the many lawsuits he's lost. Similarly, it's certain Trump had his former campaign manager agree/sign something similar. Something like, "I promise I won't say anything about Trump and won't reveal any secrets or policies we discussed while I was campaign manager."

Haters gotta hate? Oh, the irony... the Farce is strong in this one!

There's only one thing of strength here... your hate. Haters spend day and night trying to belittle his achievements. I'm not a US citizen so the outcome doesn't matter to me but it's hilarious to see all the haters squirming.

There's a big difference between discerning the drawbacks/failings of a candidate, ....and hate. Most of those against Trump being prez are also in favor of a strong USA. When the US is secure, then the rest of the world benefits, .....by donations (Americans are, by far, the most charitable people ww). But it's more than what Americans do with money and with trying to protect oppressed peoples ww. It's about friendships. With presidents like Carter, Bill Clinton and Obama, the US cemented many genuine friendships with other world leaders. With Republican presidents, the story is checkered. With someone like Trump, many friendships will get strained to the breaking point. Heck, Trump alienated the Pope for Kryssaykes! Who alienates the Pope? He's easier to get along with than your granma with her chocolate chip cookies. Trump would offend dishwashers, if given the chance. And he's actually done that. One of the thousands of lawsuits Trump has lost, was with a group of dishwashers at a Trump event who claimed they didn't get paid as promised.

As usual (as in all Trump lawsuits), it was settled with a disclaimer, forcing the winning side (the workers) to never discuss details of the case.

For lawsuits lost I doubt that. I would presume it would be a requirement to settle, and I'd guess that most disagreements end up being settled.

[Publicus]

Most filings with a court are settled without a trial and the norm is to agree to a confidentiality clause enforcable by the court as a part of the litigation, the process, the procedure and the settlement.

Someone like Trump would get the lawyers who specialise in settlements out of court so to speak and who muzzle publicity by getting confidential final agreements in a court of law.

Whether Trump is running for prez or not, and it's only 12 months since he got into politics, Trump would not want his cheating of workers publicised in an actual court trial with a judge and jury and verdict and all the attendant publicity that goes on the public record forever to anyone.

We know Trump is a no-pay sleaze, we just don't have all the details, instances, specifics, and we probably never will have any more than a piece of it all.

[boomerangutang]

Some of the lowest people I've known are people who get work done, and then slither out of paying as promised. Trump is one of those, though (thankfully) I don't know him personally, and have never worked for (or been cheated by) him. However, thousands of people who do real work (electricians, cabinet makers, tile setters, cooks, etc) have seen the real Trump and, from what many of them tell, it ain't pretty.

A person who takes advantage of and/or cheats workers is not who the US needs in the power seat. It's the same type of person who breaks promises, lies, and has a cold-hearted superiority complex. Leona Helmsly and Bernie Madoff were two other New Yorkers who share such reputations with the Trumpster.

[tropo]

Surprisingly, Lewandowski is on Fox kissing his former boss's ar$e. Must have got a lovely pay off to hide the truth.

Every time Trump loses a lawsuit (it's happened hundreds of times) he always gets the winner to sign a non-disclosure promise. That's why we're not hearing details about the many lawsuits he's lost. Similarly, it's certain Trump had his former campaign manager agree/sign something similar. Something like, "I promise I won't say anything about Trump and won't reveal any secrets or policies we discussed while I was campaign manager."

Haters gotta hate? Oh, the irony... the Farce is strong in this one!

There's only one thing of strength here... your hate. Haters spend day and night trying to belittle his achievements. I'm not a US citizen so the outcome doesn't matter to me but it's hilarious to see all the haters squirming.

There's a big difference between discerning the drawbacks/failings of a candidate, ....and hate. Most of those against Trump being prez are also in favor of a strong USA. When the US is secure, then the rest of the world benefits, .....by donations (Americans are, by far, the most charitable people ww). But it's more than what Americans do with money and with trying to protect oppressed peoples ww. It's about friendships. With presidents like Carter, Bill Clinton and Obama, the US cemented many genuine friendships with other world leaders. With Republican presidents, the story is checkered. With someone like Trump, many friendships will get strained to the breaking point. Heck, Trump alienated the Pope for Kryssaykes! Who alienates the Pope? He's easier to get along with than your granma with her chocolate chip cookies. Trump would offend dishwashers, if given the chance. And he's actually done that. One of the thousands of lawsuits Trump has lost, was with a group of dishwashers at a Trump event who claimed they didn't get paid as promised.

As usual (as in all Trump lawsuits), it was settled with a disclaimer, forcing the winning side (the workers) to never discuss details of the case.

This guy insulted the pope....

http://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/

In his defence it should be mentioned that he was sexually abused by priests as a boy. He constantly offends the church.

[ilostmypassword]

I can already hear what Trump will be saying on November 9th:

"Crooked Hillary outspent us. That's the only reason we lost, folks. Believe me, that's the only reason."

I have to disagree with you here. He and his supporters will be claiming it was voting by illegal aliens that did him in.

[Jingthing]

What campaign?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/06/donald_trump_s_invisible_campaign.html

There Is No Donald Trump Campaign

Firing your campaign manager is not a big deal when there’s nothing to manage.

...
I don’t know. No one knows, because it’s never happened before. But if the polls are any indication, what happens is something like a catastrophic defeat for Trump and the rest of the Republican Party. And of all possible outcomes in this election, that’s the most fitting. Trump built his career by talking and grifting his way into some facsimile of success, before losing it to his own arrogance and narcissism. If nothing else, a historic defeat in November will fit the pattern.

[boomerangutang]

I can already hear what Trump will be saying on November 9th:

"Crooked Hillary outspent us. That's the only reason we lost, folks. Believe me, that's the only reason."

I have to disagree with you here. He and his supporters will be claiming it was voting by illegal aliens that did him in.

Yes, he'll have a bunch of complaints. He's the #1 complainer, #1 at blame, #1 for being unsavory,

I guess his father never taught him how to be a gentleman. Trump got his character formed from watching B-grade mobster movies. Listen to how he puts sentences together, plus his diction, and it's plain.

[HikeFromLA]

Surprisingly, Lewandowski is on Fox kissing his former boss's ar$e.

Must have got a lovely pay off to hide the truth.

Nope.

Not at all.

He simply wants to work again.

Don't diss the guy what made you famous.