Donald Trump is apparently not pleased with the advice and the comments of political guru Paul Manafort, according to
Politico.
Multiple sources tells Politico Trump was not happy with reports that Manafort characterized the real estate mogul as using a "different persona" and "projecting an image," during a closed-door meeting with Republican leaders.
The billionaire also expressed concern about Manafort bringing several former lobbying colleagues into the campaign, reports Politico.
According to
Yahoo News, Trump was troubled by the fact that Manafort had done work in foreign countries, including for a group accused of being a front for Pakistani intelligence.
The GOP front-runner is reportedly returning some authority to campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who Politico refers to as Manafort's rival within the campaign.
During a
Fox News interview, Manafort said his comments about Trump were taken out of context. "I was talking about rallies versus some other setting," said Manafort.
One campaign operative said Manafort's attempts to change Trump's style have not been met with approval. The real estate mogul did not approve of staying away from Sunday talk shows, for example.
"Everyone coming in now thinks they're going to be able to manhandle him and he's not going to let it happen," said one Trump operative, reports Politico.
"These consultants are used to being smarter than their candidate and in this scenario, the candidate is smarter and willing to risk more than you are."
Trump is showing few signs of acquiescing to Manafort's plans. In Connecticut, he mocked the idea of acting "presidential," saying that if he were to act presidential, "I can guarantee you this morning, I wouldn't be here."
"That's Trump," another Trump operative tells Politico. "If you try to force him into a box, he's going to climb out of the box just to prove it to you."