The Other McCain

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Trump Puts Breitbart News Executive Steve Bannon In Charge of His Campaign

Posted on | August 17, 2016 | 2 Comments

This is exciting news:

Donald Trump, following weeks of gnawing agitation over his advisers’ attempts to temper his style, moved late Tuesday to overhaul his struggling campaign by rebuffing those efforts and elevating two longtime associates who have encouraged his combative populism.
Stephen Bannon, a former banker who runs the influential conservative outlet Breitbart News and is known for his fiercely anti-establishment politics, has been named the Trump campaign’s chief executive. Kellyanne Conway, a veteran Republican pollster who has been close to Trump for years, will assume the role of campaign manager. . . .
Trump issued a statement hours later. “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,” he said. “I believe we’re adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November and continue to share my message and vision to Make America Great Again.” . . .
Trump’s stunning decision effectively ended the months-long push by campaign chairman Paul Manafort to moderate Trump’s presentation and pitch for the general election. And it sent a signal, perhaps more clearly than ever, that the real-estate magnate intends to finish this race on his own terms, with friends who share his instincts at his side.
Manafort, a seasoned operative who joined the campaign in March, will remain in his role, but the advisers described his status internally as diminished due to Trump’s unhappiness and restlessness in recent weeks.

(Via Memeorandum.) I’ve known Steve Bannon for about five years, and have been interviewed by him three or four times on his XM Satellite radio show. What does his choice as chief executive of the Trump campaign signify? I can’t say, but would suggest that Bannon’s main task will be to focus on message discipline, and management of the campaign’s difficult relationship with the media.

UPDATE: The campaign, of course, does not wish to say that this shakeup is an admission that the campaign was in trouble. However . . .

 

. . . clearly recent polls have shown Trump falling behind. He led for four days (July 25-28) in the Real Clear Politics average of national polls. That lead peaked with Trump at 45.7 to Clinton’s 44.6. As of today, Clinton leads by a full six points, 47.2 to Trump’s 41.2, so that in the past three weeks, there has been a net 7-point swing from Trump to Clinton. Fortunately for Trump, it is still early — most people ignore the election campaign until after Labor Day — and Clinton’s negatives are quite high. The Trump campaign just now began making its first advertising buys in major battleground states, and we shall see what effect a new management team has. Those who thought Trump’s campaign was doomed to defeat may yet be proven wrong.

 

Category: Donald Trump, Election

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2 Responses to “Trump Puts Breitbart News Executive Steve Bannon In Charge of His Campaign”

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