President Donald Trump shook up his campaign team yesterday, removing Brad Parscale as campaign manager and replacing him with deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien. Parscale will stay on as a senior advisor:
I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager. Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
…campaign. Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together. This one should be a lot easier as our poll numbers are rising fast, the economy is getting better, vaccines and therapeutics will soon…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
…be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
Reports are that it was the Tulsa rally that was the “last straw”:
A Trump political adviser says the Tulsa debacle appears to have been the last straw — Trump never got over it & blamed Parscale.
In recent weeks, Trump has taken to cutting Parscale off & disagreeing with nearly every idea he offere https://t.co/xgM5dQHRUE— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) July 16, 2020
And that Jared Kushner was behind the change:
But make no mistake: this is still Jared Kushner’s campaign.
Stepien is close with Kushner & his installation as deputy campaign manager in May was widely viewed as Jared installing a successor loyal to him should Parscale need to be pushed out.
That moment arrived this week.— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) July 16, 2020
So, it’s a good move for the president?
I’m a huge admirer of Brad Parscale, but he wasn’t serving POTUS well. Fortunately, Bill Stepien is a man of integrity who President Trump trusts to communicate a bold governing blueprint. Remember: Policy not politics. Unity not division. This is a step in the right direction.
— Isaac Chotiner (@IChotiner) July 16, 2020
Roger STONE, one of Trump’s original 2016 campaign, approves of his campaign moves. In a message, he said, “Bill Stepien is a highly capable professional with extensive experience. He is an excellent choice to run the president’s campaign. I am very encouraged by this decision.”
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 16, 2020
Congratulations, Bill Stepien!
On to victory. https://t.co/nRWWk7t8aw— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) July 16, 2020
Before working with Trump’s campaign in 2016, Stepien was an adviser to then NJ Gov. Chris Christie:
Trump’s new campaign manager, Bill Stepien, was previously linked to the Bridgegate scandal in New Jersey, which led to his firing by then-Gov Chris Christie in 2014. https://t.co/FsMv0bzhXN https://t.co/jbGfvzbw88
— Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach) July 16, 2020
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