Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, resigned from that position today, without providing specific reasons. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/us/politics/paul-manafort-resigns-donald-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news Trump had brought new people abroad his campaign train recently, Steve Bannon and KellyAnne Conway, essentially relegating Manafort to a secondary post. As Trump slipped continuously in the polls, he blamed Manafort for the drop rather than his own personality with his proclivity to insult and demean people. Trump’s personality and temperament have turned many voters off and believe he is not fit to be president.
Manafort has also been involved financially with corrupt politicians and oligarchs in the Ukraine who were linked to Russia. This may have been the reason Trump friended Putin and said that he was doing a good job for Russia, even though its economy is slumping and he grabbed the Crimea illegally. Manafort’s resignation may also have been the result of his Ukraine linkage and his feelings that he didn’t want to distract from Trump’s message.
It seems that the Trump campaign is constantly being re-ordered as Trump’s support appears to be falling and it is unclear how he can mount a rebound. Corey Lewandowski was his first campaign manager to go, which occurred when Manafort came aboard. Now it’s Manafort himself who has dropped out. Who will be the next one to go if Trump’s numbers don’t start recovering? Could Trump drop out if it seems more likely he’s going to lose?
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Photo by Shutterstock
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020