Trump Campaign Manager Fired

Donald Trump has fired his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, after previously saying he would remain "loyal" to campaign operative. 

"The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign," the campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said in a statement. "The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future."

Mr. Trump had faced increasing concerns from allies and donors, as well as his children, about the next phase of the campaign as he pivots toward a general election.

Two people briefed on the move said that Mr. Lewandowski was let go.

The campaign manager was seen as having a hostile relationship with many members of the national press corps that covers Mr. Trump, and many officials at the Republican National Committee had strained relationships with him.

Gabriel Sherman of New York magazine reports Lewandowski was ousted in a coup led by Trump's children. But the groundwork for his departure was a long time coming.

Lewandowski's role in the campaign had been shrinking in recent weeks due to two events: In March, Lewandowski was accused of grabbing a female reporter after a Trump press conference, after which video evidence emerged confirming that report; and in April, when veteran GOP operative Paul Manafort was brought on as Trump's convention manager and later promoted into a more senior (perhaps most senior) role.

The incident with now-former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields did not spell immediate doom for Lewandowski, in whom Trump continued to express confidence publicly. But the widely discussed event was arguably the beginning of a two-month cascade of public-relations problems for the Trump campaign—a cascade that didn't stop Trump's march through the Republican primaries but has stunted his general-election campaign. And Lewandowski's thuggish behavior and attitude was bound a long-term problem for Trump if he hoped to "professionalize" his campaign for the general.

That's where Manafort's hiring comes in, and it's likely the most significant factor in Lewandowski's exit. A veteran of Republican presidential campaigns since the 1976 Gerald Ford bid, Manafort was unlikely to let anyone but himself run the show:

All of Washington also agrees on what Manafort's addition to the team means: The Trump campaign is getting a makeover. Hailed as a master of delegate and convention strategy, Manafort was initially brought in to help the campaign survive—or, better yet, avoid—a contested convention. Even though Trump has now effectively secured the nomination, it's unlikely Manafort's role will be reduced, at least not without an internal campaign fight.

He's not known to play second fiddle. Reed ran Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign and hired Manafort as a senior adviser. He says Manafort's nickname around the office was the Count: "He'd come in with everything but a cape," Reed says. "He liked to be in charge."

"In charge" is exactly what Manafort appeared to be shortly after his hiring in late March. It wasn't just appearing on the Sunday shows. Manafort also began asserting a more active role in shaping the direction of the campaign and the candidate. Manafort was "gaining influence" and "consolidating his own power," said Politico, while Lewandowski was "losing the tug-of-war" and "has been neutered."New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman reported Manafort had "taken over" the campaign.

Manafort threw his weight around, hiring allies of his own to the campaign that indicated Lewandowski was campaign manger in name only. With Lewandowski gone (though he still remains as a Trump delegate from New Hampshire), it's clearer than ever the Trump campaign is Manafort's and Manafort's alone. And indeed, that's what NBC's Katy Tur is reporting: