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| Donald Trump's campaign faces unprecedented rift amid delegate panic | Donald Trump's campaign faces unprecedented rift amid delegate panic |
| (4 months later) | |
| Until March, Donald Trump’s campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee seemed almost uniquely lacking in leaks and infighting. But now, in the words of one source, there is “a snake in the garden”. | Until March, Donald Trump’s campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee seemed almost uniquely lacking in leaks and infighting. But now, in the words of one source, there is “a snake in the garden”. |
| The arrival of veteran operative Paul Manafort into Trump’s inner circle to lead his effort to clinch enough delegates to win the nomination has led to much of the campaign devolving into a turf war between the newcomer and longtime campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. | The arrival of veteran operative Paul Manafort into Trump’s inner circle to lead his effort to clinch enough delegates to win the nomination has led to much of the campaign devolving into a turf war between the newcomer and longtime campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. |
| The result is that a once-tight-knit campaign is facing an unprecedented rift and power struggle for control. “There is no hierarchy now,” said one source. | The result is that a once-tight-knit campaign is facing an unprecedented rift and power struggle for control. “There is no hierarchy now,” said one source. |
| In the weeks since Manafort’s appointment, there have been a series of leaks of internal meetings and the campaign has become embroiled in conflict and discord. As one source put it, when it was just Lewandowski in charge “you knew exactly where you stood. It’s fucking politics now.” | In the weeks since Manafort’s appointment, there have been a series of leaks of internal meetings and the campaign has become embroiled in conflict and discord. As one source put it, when it was just Lewandowski in charge “you knew exactly where you stood. It’s fucking politics now.” |
| The operation was not entirely harmonious under Lewandoswki’s sole leadership, the source said – “there’d be conflict, Corey would scream at someone, maybe you’d succeed, maybe you’d fail” – but it was “familial”. | The operation was not entirely harmonious under Lewandoswki’s sole leadership, the source said – “there’d be conflict, Corey would scream at someone, maybe you’d succeed, maybe you’d fail” – but it was “familial”. |
| The question for the Trump campaign is how much these changes are needed. After all, with Lewandowski at the helm, Trump became the clear Republican frontrunner and won 21 states. Further, Trump is poised to win New York on Tuesday by an overwhelming margin and then to sweep the so-called “Acela primary” of five north-eastern and mid-Atlantic states on 26 April. | The question for the Trump campaign is how much these changes are needed. After all, with Lewandowski at the helm, Trump became the clear Republican frontrunner and won 21 states. Further, Trump is poised to win New York on Tuesday by an overwhelming margin and then to sweep the so-called “Acela primary” of five north-eastern and mid-Atlantic states on 26 April. |
| He is also the only candidate with any realistic path to the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination before the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. However, the complicated fight for delegates proved to be the germ of what are now deep divisions in the campaign. | He is also the only candidate with any realistic path to the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination before the Republican convention in Cleveland in July. However, the complicated fight for delegates proved to be the germ of what are now deep divisions in the campaign. |
| Manafort, a veteran delegate wrangler with experience going back to the 1976 Republican National Convention, used the campaign’s problems managing the complex delegate selection process as his path into Trump’s inner circle. | Manafort, a veteran delegate wrangler with experience going back to the 1976 Republican National Convention, used the campaign’s problems managing the complex delegate selection process as his path into Trump’s inner circle. |
| He is also a longtime friend and business partner of Trump’s confidant Roger Stone, who left the campaign in August after repeated conflict with Lewandowski. It has been suggested that Manafort’s emergence is the latest round in the ongoing battle between Stone and Lewandowski for Trump’s ear. While the Trump campaign in early March hired a number of veteran operatives who had previously worked for Republican rival Ben Carson to help prepare for a contested convention, the delegate hunt had not been prioritized to the extent that other campaigns, like that of Ted Cruz, had done. | He is also a longtime friend and business partner of Trump’s confidant Roger Stone, who left the campaign in August after repeated conflict with Lewandowski. It has been suggested that Manafort’s emergence is the latest round in the ongoing battle between Stone and Lewandowski for Trump’s ear. While the Trump campaign in early March hired a number of veteran operatives who had previously worked for Republican rival Ben Carson to help prepare for a contested convention, the delegate hunt had not been prioritized to the extent that other campaigns, like that of Ted Cruz, had done. |
| The fighting within the campaign has not just been about personalities. Instead, there has been basic conflict over whether the campaign’s longtime mantra of “letting Trump be Trump” should be replaced by turning the unconventional insurgent into a traditional candidate who gives policy speeches off a teleprompter and acts “presidential”. | The fighting within the campaign has not just been about personalities. Instead, there has been basic conflict over whether the campaign’s longtime mantra of “letting Trump be Trump” should be replaced by turning the unconventional insurgent into a traditional candidate who gives policy speeches off a teleprompter and acts “presidential”. |
| The conflict even extends to how the candidate is addressed. A source expressed horror at “the complete lack of reverence” that Manafort has shown Trump. While Lewandowski “in any situation, refers to him as Mr Trump”, Manafort calls the candidate “Donald”. | The conflict even extends to how the candidate is addressed. A source expressed horror at “the complete lack of reverence” that Manafort has shown Trump. While Lewandowski “in any situation, refers to him as Mr Trump”, Manafort calls the candidate “Donald”. |
| On Monday, longtime Trump aide and Lewandowski ally Stuart Jolly left the campaign. Jolly, who was the campaign’s national field director and a decorated Gulf war veteran, resigned after a campaign reorganization meant that he was going to be forced to report to Rick Wiley, a Manafort hire who previously served as Scott Walker’s campaign manager. Many of his duties will now be taken on by Rick Gates, a longtime Manafort aide. | On Monday, longtime Trump aide and Lewandowski ally Stuart Jolly left the campaign. Jolly, who was the campaign’s national field director and a decorated Gulf war veteran, resigned after a campaign reorganization meant that he was going to be forced to report to Rick Wiley, a Manafort hire who previously served as Scott Walker’s campaign manager. Many of his duties will now be taken on by Rick Gates, a longtime Manafort aide. |
| One key element of this fight has been the opening of a Trump campaign office in Washington DC. For a candidate who has cast himself as the opponent of the Republican establishment and special interests, an inside the Beltway office is off message. Another aspect of this conflict has been Trump’s recent lack of appearances on Sunday shows and new increased budget for paid media efforts including television ads. | One key element of this fight has been the opening of a Trump campaign office in Washington DC. For a candidate who has cast himself as the opponent of the Republican establishment and special interests, an inside the Beltway office is off message. Another aspect of this conflict has been Trump’s recent lack of appearances on Sunday shows and new increased budget for paid media efforts including television ads. |
| One source bristled at the media narrative of “two parallel campaign structures” and argued: “If that’s the case, Lewandowski has a structure of 90 people, and Manafort has a structure of three.” | One source bristled at the media narrative of “two parallel campaign structures” and argued: “If that’s the case, Lewandowski has a structure of 90 people, and Manafort has a structure of three.” |
| The problem, though, is that in a campaign where Trump has often been his own top strategist, it doesn’t matter who campaign staffers are loyal to, it only matters to whom Trump is loyal. | The problem, though, is that in a campaign where Trump has often been his own top strategist, it doesn’t matter who campaign staffers are loyal to, it only matters to whom Trump is loyal. |