The Trump Train has lost another engineer. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort announced Friday that he is resigning. Via The Hill:
The move comes two days after the Republican presidential nominee brought in Stephen Bannon as campaign chief executive and Kellyanne Conway as campaign manager in a major shakeup.
The moves were seen as a de facto demotion for Manafort, even though the campaign stressed that he was keeping his position at the time.
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in a statement.
“I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
Manafort announced his decision in a statement on Friday. The moves comes after a Thursday speech by Trump in North Carolina which was pretty darn good.
Manafort’s resignation comes as new questions swirl around his involvement with a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine. Last week a New York Times investigation found that more than $12 million in cash payments were secretly earmarked for Manafort. Reports The Hill:
Those payments, on top of other reports, raised concerns that Manafort may have violated U.S. laws requiring lobbyists to register as “foreign agents” with the Justice Department if they work with other governments.
Oops.
When the law will catch up with Bill and Hillary and Clinton Foundation “pay for play” remains unclear.
Has the Trump campaign struck a new tone with Manafort’s exit? Was it time for Manafort to go? Will The Donaldus be able to gain ground on Hillary Clinton? What say you?
