On Friday morning, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort who has served Trump faithfully and crookedly for several months now has been unceremoniously booted from the campaign, tendering his resignation.
“It’s not a shakeup,” the Trump campaign will say, but with the resignation of Paul Manafort, it is clear that there is a new sheriff in Trump town, and there is no doubt that the last thing Manafort wanted to say was “I quit.”
Trump himself confirmed the resignation of his closest adviser, saying that he appreciated his “great work,” but not offering his regrets.
Said Trump in a statement released early Friday morning,
“This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign. 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.”
This comes just days after the most recent campaign shakeup admitted Breitbart leader Stephen Bannon and several others to the campaign. Spokespeople for Trump were careful to say that Manafort’s position was safe and that the obvious shakeup was just an expansion, but this announcement from Manafort confirms that once again, in the space of just two months, the Trump campaign has shifted leadership once again.
This is not completely unsurprising as Trump has seen massive losses in nearly every poll in recent weeks. No doubt Trump was looking for someone to blame, and Manafort was the next head on the chopping-block.
We would celebrate this ouster if not for the fact that we have traded one evil for another greater evil. Time will tell if this shakeup will help or hurt the Trump campaign.
