As Republican front-runner Donald Trump enters the final stretch of a campaign that is still unusually undecided, the real estate mogul's new chief campaign strategist, Paul Manafort, has recruited veterans of his lobbying firm for top spots on Trump's presidential campaign,
Politico reports.
The newest additions to the Trump campaign include, Laurance Gay, Doug Davenport, Rick Gates, and Marc Palazzo — all individuals with professional ties to Manafort, who according to Politico has made "a decades-long career drifting between GOP presidential politics and lucrative lobbying and consulting work."
"They said that they were going to bring in a new campaign team, but Manafort has been out of the game for so long," said an operative who works with the Trump campaign. "He doesn't have any current connections, so he's just bringing in all his old lobbyist friends."
Meanwhile, Politico notes the newest members on his campaign are an odd fit considering Trump's previous statements against Washington special interests and their lobbying corps.
"I don't want lobbyists. I don't want special interests," Trump told CBS's "Face the Nation" just two months after he launched his presidential campaign.
Trump added he "turned down $5 million last week from a very important lobbyist, because there are total strings attached to a thing like that. He's going to come to me in a year or two years and he's going to want something for a country that he represents or for a company that he represents."
According to Politico, Gay, Davenport, and Gates did not respond to messages seeking comment about their roles with the campaign, or their lobbying work.
Palazzo, however, told the political site that he's "known Paul Manafort for many, many years. I have great respect for him, and am confident in his ability to help Mr. Trump win the nomination." He added that he met with Manafort last week to discuss the campaign, but noted that he is "not going to assume an official role with the campaign."
Manafort's new position to
"revamp" the Trump campaign has prompted questions about the role of Trump's long-time campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
And, since Manafort joined the Trump campaign, the real estate tycoon has made some subtle but notable changes.
Not only has Trump been more cautious on Twitter — the social media site he's been known to use to stir up controversy — but he's also largely avoided controversy by staying off the Sunday morning shows for the last two weeks.
According to a Fox News telephone interview, when asked who was truly running the Trump campaign, Manafort or Lewandowski? Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr. responded "My father. My father is always running it."