Wednesday’s campaign staff shake-up is the embodiment of Donald Trump’s desire to sprint to the November finish line his way, according to political experts.
Trump announced that Steve Bannon would take a leave of absence as Breitbart News executive chairman to join the campaign as its CEO. Veteran Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway will serve as campaign manager. The Trump camp sought to counter the perception that the move is a challenge to campaign chair Paul Manafort, who will remain as the campaign’s chief strategist.
“Trump is Trump. I don’t think adding people or getting rid of people or changing staff is going to change that.”
“It is imperative we continue to expand our team with top-tier talent,” Manafort said in a statement. “Steve and Kellyanne are respected professionals who believe in Mr. Trump and his message and will undoubtedly help take the campaign to new levels of success.”
The move comes as Trump has struggled in head-to-head polls against Democrat Hillary Clinton — and amid revelations that Manafort’s name appeared on a secret ledger showing he was designated to receive $12.7 million in cash payments from the pro-Russian party of former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych.
Candice Nelson, the academic director of the Campaign Management Institute at American University, said the Manafort-Ukraine connection undoubtedly played a role in the reorganization. But she said the more important factor was likely Trump’s reluctance to accept the typical candidate programming common in a conventional presidential campaign.
“Trump is Trump,” she said. “I don’t think adding people or getting rid of people or changing staff is going to change that … He comes from a business background. That’s what works in business.”
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Trump himself backed up that sentiment Tuesday. “I don’t want to pivot,” Trump said in an interview with WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Trump blitzed the crowded Republican primary field with a free-wheeling, off-the-cuff style that GOP voters found endearing. Although he has delivered a number of well-received speeches from a teleprompter on law and order, economics, and foreign policy, he clearly relishes the spontaneity of unscripted rallies in front of large crowds.
Conway, 49, is the founder of The Polling Company. She brings credibility with conservatives and previously worked for Trump running mate Mike Pence. During the primaries, she directed Promise I, a super PAC that supported Sen. Ted Cruz’s bid for the White House. She also conducted a number of polls showing skepticism among voters toward mass immigration.
Bannon, meanwhile, has employed a take-no-prisoners approach to conservative causes that meshes with Trump’s own hard-edged personality. The Trump campaign touted him as the “most dangerous political operative in America,” a label used by Bloomberg Politics.
In addition to Breitbart News, Bannon serves on the board of directors at the Government Accountability Institute, a Florida-based outfit that published the blockbuster book “Clinton Cash,” which exposed conflicts of interest surrounding the Clinton Foundation and Clinton’s role as secretary of state. The New York Times used the reporting of author Peter Schweizer as the basis of a lengthy, front-page story that was highly critical of Clinton.
Bannon told Bloomberg that spreading stories to mainstream news outlets was far more effective at controlling the narrative than blasting Democrats with commentary in the right-wing media.
“I have known Steve and Kellyanne both for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “They are extremely capable, highly qualified people who love to win and know how to win.”
The ultimate impact of Wednesday’s staff changes is yet to be seen, said Jacob Neiheisel, a political science professor at the University of Buffalo and an expert on campaigns.
“It depends on what changes on the ground come with the staff changes,” he said, noting that Clinton is far ahead of Trump in opening field offices, hiring operatives, and other nitty-gritty elements of a national campaign.
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Trump’s strategy of dominating media coverage worked well in the primary with highly engaged Republican partisans, Neiheisel said, but general election voters are harder to corral.
“You actually need to go find them,” he said.
The Trump camp said it would air its first campaign ads later this week.
“That’s a good sign if you’re a Trump supporter,” Neiheisel said. “But it may be too late.”
Neiheisel suggested that both Bannon and Conway would fail if they attempt to turn Trump into someone he is not.
“I’ve seen little evidence to contradict that Trump wants to be Trump,” he said.
Nelson, the American University professor, said Trump is in charge — regardless of the titles he gives to his staff.
“I can’t see him handing the campaign over to someone else,” she said.
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