Donald Trump\u2019s top advisers have insisted for months that his 2024 bid for the presidency is the most disciplined campaign he has ever run. They pointed to fewer leaks, less infighting and a more deliberate strategy honed by seasoned professionals and driven by data.<\/p>\n
But with just 45 days left until the election, the past three weeks reveal whatever control and self-restraint helped launch Trump\u2019s third presidential campaign has largely disappeared in the crucial final stretch.<\/p>\n
On the Monday before Trump\u2019s first debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, his running mate shared on social media, without evidence, the claim that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating their neighbors\u2019 pets \u2014 one Trump repeated the following night on the debate stage, in a moment that instantly went viral.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s chaotic and widely criticized debate performance coincided with an already tumultuous period for the former president. He had recently welcomed back into his orbit Corey Lewandowski \u2014 his former 2016 campaign manager who was exiled after allegations of sexual assault by a donor \u2014 and had begun traveling around the country with Laura Loomer, a far-right ally who has spread conspiracy theories. Two failed apparent assassination attempts, as well as additional threats against him, have also left the freewheeling president constrained by a mushrooming security presence and has made staging campaign events more challenging.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, after Taylor Swift endorsed Harris following the debate, Trump picked a fight with the international icon, posting last Sunday on social media, \u201cI HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!\u201d \u2014 the sort of impulsive, impetuous display that has become increasingly common in recent weeks. In a single 24-hour span at the end of last month, for example, he amplified a crude joke about Harris performing a sex act; falsely accused her of staging a coup against President Joe Biden; promoted tributes to the QAnon conspiracy theory; hawked digital trading cards; and became embroiled in a public feud with staff and officials at Arlington National Cemetery.<\/p>\n
The Swift attack was especially concerning to Trump\u2019s advisers, who are worried about attracting women voters. But Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump was more popular than Swift \u2014 citing a Siena poll \u2014 and that Gold Star families who had lost loved ones serving in the military had invited Trump to Arlington Cemetery.<\/p>\n
By early last week, Trump and his No. 2, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), found themselves trying to reverse-engineer evidence of Haitians eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, arguing they were simply trying to draw attention to the real problem of immigration. They also used inflammatory rhetoric to blame Biden and Harris \u2014 who Trump called \u201cthe enemy from within\u201d \u2014 for what the Republican ticket claimed was inflammatory rhetoric that lead to the apparent attempts on Trump\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe through-line,\u201d said one Trump confidant, \u201cis his campaign is 96 percent him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not even \u2018Let Trump be Trump,\u2019\u201d this person continued, referring to the oft-quoted unofficial motto of Trump advisers. \u201cIt\u2019s \u2018Let Trump be unsupervised at all times.\u2019 They just feel like, \u2018We can\u2019t control him, so let\u2019s hope he wins anyways.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
This account of the Trump campaign\u2019s recent frenetic period is based on interviews with nine aides, advisers and others familiar with the situation, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal details.<\/p>\n
In many ways, the past three weeks or so have been quintessentially unruly and turbulent, and hark back to Trump\u2019s first, quixotic presidential bid in 2016, when he alarmed allies and party elders before pulling off an improbable victory.<\/p>\n
With polls continuing to show a close contest, Trump\u2019s team remains optimistic he will prevail in November. They privately point to what they believe are sufficient organizing and canvassing efforts, despite having outsourced much of the activity. They believe strong voter registration numbers, especially in Pennsylvania, and early ballot requests favor them, as well as the fact that the economy remains the top issue for many voters. They also remain confident that immigration will be a leading issue and one where the American public prefers Trump over Harris.<\/p>\n
Tony Fabrizio, the campaign\u2019s pollster, has continually shared internal data that is more promising than public data, which has shown Harris receiving a modest bounce after the Democratic convention, campaign advisers say.<\/p>\n
And there is a sense among some strategists, both Democratic and Republican, that Trump is impervious to the sort of chaos and controversies that might sink another politician. Marc Short, chief of staff to former vice president Mike Pence, described the recent events as \u201ca wash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a statement to the loyalty among his core voters that, despite however rocky events may be, it doesn\u2019t falter,\u201d Short said. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a core audience that loves him, and I think there\u2019s also an audience that\u2019s tuned out the drama.\u201d<\/p>\n
But some advisers have also tried to remind mid-level staffers that the race is going to be close no matter what, saying that Trump is \u201cin a position to win\u201d and urging them to \u201ctune out the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump has built the most powerful and most professional team in political history and, under his leadership, has overcome every single obstacle in his way,\u201d Cheung said. \u201cFrom the illegal witch-hunts to the weaponization of the justice system to an assassination attempt to the political coup of replacing Biden, the enemies of America will stop at nothing to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heading into the summer and especially as the polls have tightened following Biden\u2019s abrupt withdrawal from the race, Trump\u2019s top advisers \u2014 including Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles \u2014 have been thrust into the very tumult and knife-fighting that defined his past campaigns and which they explicitly sought to avoid, multiple advisers said.<\/p>\n
Wiles and LaCivita are still in charge \u2014 and most Trump allies expect them to survive until Election Day \u2014 but critics say their more tenuous hold on the campaign has led them to weigh concerns about self-preservation over attempting to rein in their boss.<\/p>\n
Some on the campaign blame the newfound drama on the arrival of Lewandowski who \u2014 still fresh from 2021 allegations of unwanted sexual advances \u2014 was already viewed with skepticism by some of Trump\u2019s family members and allies.<\/p>\n
Lewandowski soon began telling others he was in charge of the campaign as the chairman, which was not true. He raised questions with Trump and others about how Wiles had spent money, particularly on advertisements, forcing her to spend time defending herself internally. Others on the campaign defended Wiles as frugal. And he also began calling staffers in swing states and asking if the campaign was being well-run \u2014 outreach that filtered back to Wiles and rattled other staff.<\/p>\n
Privately, Wiles has told allies that it has been difficult to see the close-knit, disciplined operation that she helped build face such tumult and infighting in the final months \u2014 and that the past few weeks have been among her least favorite since joining the operation in 2021.<\/p>\n
Lewandowski did not respond to detailed questions but slammed The Washington Post for its reporting.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame old nonsense that has already been written by the Washington Compost,\u201d he wrote in a text message. \u201cYour obsession with my volunteer efforts just demonstrates your continued hatred of Donald J. Trump and prove you will stop at nothing to try and prevent him from becoming the 47th President of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cheung, meanwhile, said the campaign was all \u201crowing in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loomer, too, has been a source of much frustration within Trump\u2019s orbit. She accompanied him to the presidential debate in Philadelphia, and she also joined him the following day at events commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, despite previously pushing the false conspiracy theory that the attacks were an \u201cinside job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some outside advisers and donors called Trump to express their concern that her unofficial role is detrimental to the campaign. Trump finally distanced himself from her in milquetoast public remarks describing her as \u201ca supporter\u201d and a \u201cfree spirit.\u201d He also promised advisers he would not regularly invite her to travel with him on his plane, and last weekend he privately referred to her as \u201ccrazy\u201d to several people, according to someone familiar with comments.<\/p>\n
Trump has also begun to privately criticize Lewandowski, downplaying his role on the campaign and their relationship, three people familiar with his comments said.<\/p>\n
Some campaign advisers are eager to move on from Trump and Vance\u2019s unverifiable claims about Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs \u2014 a potentially detrimental news cycle that has stretched into its second week \u2014 but also acknowledge Trump rarely retreats, even when it might be politically advantageous to do so.<\/p>\n
Baseless claims about immigrants stealing and eating their neighbors\u2019 pets had already gone viral in far-right circles when Vance \u2014 who had also received several calls from concerned constituents \u2014 shared the allegation in a post on X on the Monday before the debate.<\/p>\n
Though Trump and Vance did not talk about the issue before the debate \u2014 and though the topic never came up in debate prep \u2014 Trump repeated the claim following an exchange in which Harris mocked the size of his rally crowds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Springfield, they\u2019re eating the dogs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people that came in \u2014 they\u2019re eating the cats. They\u2019re eating \u2014 they\u2019re eating the pets of the people that live there.\u201d<\/p>\n
A campaign adviser said they were not shocked Trump mentioned it \u2014 \u201cit was so salacious, and it was all over the news,\u201d this person said \u2014 and added that the general issue of immigration is one that Trump and his team think ultimately benefits him.<\/p>\n
A second campaign adviser added that the operation does not internally view the eating pets claims as damaging as many outsiders do. And Trump himself has said he plans to visit Springfield in coming weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump and Senator Vance are highlighting the failed immigration system that Kamala Harris has overseen, bringing thousands of illegal immigrants pouring into communities like Springfield and many other across the country,\u201d Cheung aid.<\/p>\n
Scott Reed, a veteran Republican strategist, said Trump is running a campaign intended to turn out his base, and he\u2019s not surprised Trump and Vance have doubled down on the false immigration claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump is directly communicating with millions of small-town voters that feel crime and immigration is totally out of control,\u201d Reed said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s communicating with them in a way that normally they\u2019re neglected. It\u2019s an item in the news, he glommed onto it, he nationalized it, and he\u2019s probably going to keep it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the campaign has found itself scrambling to alternately explain away or come up with excuses for the litany of false claims; a Post analysis found that Vance repeatedly shared misinformation about Springfield, despite his staff being told on the day of his first post that there was no verifiable evidence or news reports to support the claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do,\u201d Vance told CNN host Dana Bash last Sunday, when pressed on the issue. \u201cBecause you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast.\u201d<\/p>\n
He quickly sought to clarify his comments to Bash, telling her he was referring to \u201cfirst hand accounts from my constituents.\u201d \u201cI say that we\u2019re creating a story, meaning that we\u2019re creating the American media focusing on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other turmoil has also bubbled up, and aides have recently struggled to focus the former president. Inside and outside the campaign, advisers and confidantes have urged Trump to define Harris more aggressively, including a few who say they are unconvinced that his chosen nicknames \u2014 \u201cComrade Kamala\u201d and the deliberate mispronunciation of her name as \u201cKamabla\u201d \u2014 are the right ones.<\/p>\n
Campaign advisers also have been battling for weeks over sending out mailings to voters, according to multiple advisers. Trump is skeptical of the strategy entirely and would prefer to spend the money on television ads, the people said, while there have been disagreements over how much to spend on mail and what the messaging should be.<\/p>\n
Allies have grown concerned that Trump and the Republicans are being outspent in almost every state \u2014 some by large margins \u2014 and that Democrats are far outraising Republicans. \u201cThe campaign has been smart with its resources and is implementing a strategic plan to maximize turnout and media impressions,\u201d Cheung said.<\/p>\n
Trump also spent part of last Saturday discussing whether he should participate in another debate against Harris, after saying he was not going to do it, according to people who spoke to him. Some, including adviser Kellyanne Conway, have privately been pushing him to do another debate, and he has not ruled it out despite publicly saying he won\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Trump also spent several days after the debate calling allies to tell them how well he\u2019d done, which struck some as defensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally hope he debates again,\u201d said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally. \u201cI think the narrative is she\u2019s smart, she\u2019s talented, and I think she\u2019s a mile wide and an inch deep, and it\u2019s mostly happy talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has also struggled to adjust to his new reality of facing Harris, a Black and Indian American women who is faring better against him in the polls than Biden was, according to someone familiar with his thinking.<\/p>\n
On a recent Saturday night, Trump continued to complain to advisers that Biden had stepped aside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he is ever going to give it up,\u201d said one person who heard the gripes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Donald Trump\u2019s top advisers have insisted for months that his 2024 bid for the presidency is the most disciplined campaign he has ever run. They pointed to fewer leaks, less infighting and a more deliberate strategy honed by seasoned professionals and driven by data. But with just 45 days left until the election, the past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}