Trump Campaign Chair Resigns After Staff Shakeup
Republican Presidential nominee Donald’s Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has resigned, the campaign said in a statement released Friday.
Manafort’s role was diminished this week when Trump hired a new campaign chief executive officer and campaign manager to try to help the nominee reverse falling poll numbers that have deeply worried Republican party leaders. Manafort also has been the subject of extensive news coverage over his work for pro-Russia former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich that allegedly involved overseeing millions of dollars in secret payments. Manafort denied that he received any off-the-books cash payments.
The campaign said Manafort offered his resignation and Trump accepted it, thanking him for his help during the Republican convention and calling him a «true professional.»
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, followed by his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, shakes hands with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry as he is greeted by Louisiana officials upon his arrival at the Baton Rouge airport.
Trump in flood-hit Louisiana
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is visiting flooded parts of the U.S. southern state of Louisiana Friday. Trump and his running mate Mike Pence drove through flood-ravaged areas and met with disaster relief volunteers outside the state capital, Baton Rouge. Video of their visit shows Trump helping unload supply packages from a truck.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he had not been informed of Trump’s visit and hoped the candidate was not in town solely «for a photo-op.»
Edwards said, «Instead, we hope he’ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation …to help the victims of this storm.»
More than 40,000 homes have been damaged by the floods in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo courtesy of Abby TerHaar)
Unprecedented flooding has left at least 13 people dead and thousands displaced after record-breaking rains of more than 75 centimeters that began last week. An estimated 40,000 homes have been damaged.
On Thursday, Trump made a rare public confession, saying he «regrets» some of the sharp tongued and insulting rhetoric that has become his trademark during the campaign.
«Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words …and believe it or not, I regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain,» he told supporters in Charlotte, North Carolina.