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Brad Parscale: Trump names 2020 election campaign chief | |
(35 minutes later) | |
US President Donald Trump has picked one of his political strategists as campaign manager for his 2020 re-election campaign. | |
The Trump Organization hired Brad Parscale, 42, in 2011 as a digital media guru. | |
He was asked in 2015 to create a website for Mr Trump's exploratory White House bid and a year later became the campaign's digital director. | He was asked in 2015 to create a website for Mr Trump's exploratory White House bid and a year later became the campaign's digital director. |
The president's son, Eric Trump, confirmed the appointment. | The president's son, Eric Trump, confirmed the appointment. |
He said in a press release on Tuesday: "Brad is an amazing talent and was pivotal to our success in 2016. | He said in a press release on Tuesday: "Brad is an amazing talent and was pivotal to our success in 2016. |
"He has our family's complete trust and is the perfect person to be at the helm of the campaign." | "He has our family's complete trust and is the perfect person to be at the helm of the campaign." |
A safe pair of hands? | |
Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington | |
Brad Parscale's appointment as the man selected to lead President Trump's re-election effort is notable. | |
The president is promoting from within, as Mr Parscale - a web designer by trade - managed the 2016 campaign's social media efforts despite being a political novice. Given that the top job that year was a bit of a hot potato, someone who is familiar with how Mr Trump operates could bring stability to the next run. | |
It may also be an indication that the president will once again mount an outsider-style campaign, instead of letting Republican party veterans take control. | |
Appointing Mr Parscale could also draw scrutiny, given the US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia used social media to attempt to influence the 2016 presidential race. | |
Special counsel Robert Mueller recently laid out the extent of the alleged meddling, which included fake and hijacked Twitter and Facebook accounts used to boost Mr Trump. | |
If Mr Parscale's selection means Trump 2020 will rely even more heavily on social media, the impact this time around could be diminished, given the growing view that anything - and everything - online should be viewed with suspicion. | |
The president's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, said in a statement: "Brad was essential in bringing a disciplined technology and data-driven approach to how the 2016 campaign was run. | |
"His leadership and expertise will help build a best-in-class campaign." | |
The Republican president filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission shortly after his inauguration last year to form a committee for a re-election bid. | The Republican president filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission shortly after his inauguration last year to form a committee for a re-election bid. |
Mr Trump's campaign fundraising has been ongoing, raising $22m (£16m) by the end of 2017. | |
It is little surprise that an incumbent US president would run for a second term, as White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made clear last year. | It is little surprise that an incumbent US president would run for a second term, as White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made clear last year. |
"Of course he's running for re-election," she said in June 2017 during a press briefing. | "Of course he's running for re-election," she said in June 2017 during a press briefing. |
Mr Parscale, of San Antonio, Texas, was interviewed behind closed doors last year by the House Intelligence Committee inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the US election. | |
He said he had told lawmakers he had no knowledge of the alleged Kremlin plot to influence the campaign in favour of Mr Trump. | He said he had told lawmakers he had no knowledge of the alleged Kremlin plot to influence the campaign in favour of Mr Trump. |
Mr Parscale told a CBS 60 Minutes programme last year that Mr Trump had rebuked him during the election, because the candidate was sceptical about ad spending. | |
He said Mr Trump shouted at him: "I don't believe in this mumbo-jumbo digital stuff. | |
"I was crushed actually. It was the first time he had ever, just, I hadn't even seen him yell at anyone, let alone me." | "I was crushed actually. It was the first time he had ever, just, I hadn't even seen him yell at anyone, let alone me." |
The digital guru's firm, Giles-Parscale, billed the Trump campaign $94m for its work on the election, reports US media. | |
Mr Parscale hired a British data analysis firm called Cambridge Analytica to work for the Trump campaign. | |
The digital strategist told 60 Minutes he shifted focus away from the swing state of Virginia after projecting Mr Trump's eventual path to victory in the US Midwest. | |
"I took every nickel and dime I could out of anywhere else," he said. | "I took every nickel and dime I could out of anywhere else," he said. |
"And I moved it to Michigan and Wisconsin. And I started buying advertising, digital, TV." | "And I moved it to Michigan and Wisconsin. And I started buying advertising, digital, TV." |