'Jittery' insiders fear 'power struggle' in Trump campaign threatens to tear it apart
Donald Trump's campaign risks eruption after the former president made a controversial staff choice that 's caused serious concerns, insiders told the Guardian in a new report Monday.
Trump's decision to bring back 2016 campaign chief Corey Lewandowski — and keep Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles in leadership roles — has his staff worried that "palace intrigue" could torpedo the Republican nominee's chances in 2024, the Guardian reports.
"The concern is apparently less to do with uncertainty about who would prevail — Trump has repeatedly expressed faith in Wiles and LaCivita, who come as a package deal — and more the distraction when [Democratic Party candidate Kamala] Harris has drawn roughly level in key swing state polls with 70 days until the election," the Guardian reports.
"What the campaign cannot afford, the people said, is a sapping power struggle like a clash between LaCivita, who is ensconced, and Lewandowski, who has remained close to Trump despite being ousted from a Trump-aligned Pac after a donor’s wife complained of unwanted sexual advances."
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Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung denied the reports received by the publication in a statement to the Guardian.
“None of these palace intrigue stories have been remotely correct,” Cheung reportedly said. "Trump has put together the best political team in campaign history.”
Palace intrigue concerns have been mounting since Aug. 2, when the former president met with Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair, and another former campaign chief, Kellyanne Conway, according to the Guardian.
Campaign staff "jitters" were soothed by Trump when he received private complaints from senior advisers who revolted at the idea of Lewandowski taking over, the Guardian reported.
But fears reportedly remain.
"[Trump's] campaign remains jittery about the prospect of a power struggle inside the inner circle that could become a major distraction just months until the 2024 election," the Guardian reports, "even if the jockeying for influence by top officials has ended with a truce."
Trump's tone reportedly has been dismissive of such fears, two people told the Guardian.
"The morning that Trump formally decided to add Lewandowski to the campaign leadership," the Guardian reports, "Trump told his team to 'find something for Corey to do.'"
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