Add Category
Stephen Bannon. Picture: AP.
Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign again, bringing in Stephen Bannon, co-founder and executive chairman of Breitbart News as CEO and promoting pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager.
The move, which comes just 82 days before the November election, represents yet another overhaul of the Republican nominee’s campaign for the White House.
Mr Trump has described the pair as “big people†whom he said would help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the autumn.
“I’ve known both of them for a long time. They’re terrific people, they’re winners, they’re champs, and we need to win it,†said the billionaire real estate mogul.
Campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who formally took over the reins following the departure of Corey Lewandowski in June, will maintain his current title, Mr Trump said.
Mr Manafort’s deputy Rick Gates, who often travels with Mr Trump, is expected to maintain a senior role with the campaign. The news comes as opinion surveys show Mr Trump trailing his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton nationally and in a growing number of key battleground states.
Mr Trump has previously resisted pleas from fellow Republicans to overhaul the flame-throwing approach on the campaign trail that powered his surge to the top of the GOP field in the primary season. Instead of working to broaden his appeal, he has largely kept to the large rallies and attention-grabbing comments that appealed to the Republican base.
“You know, I am who I am,†he told a local Wisconsin television station on 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.â€
Mr Conway called the moves “an expansion at a critical time in the homestretch.â€
Details of the new pecking order were hashed out at a lengthy senior staff meeting at Trump Tower on Tuesday. Additional senior hires are expected in the next few days. Mr 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 Wisconsin was well-received.
“We’re going to be doing something very dramatic,†Trump added.
Mr Trump has been lagging in the polls since he was crowned the GOP standard-bearer in Cleveland last month.
AP