Trump campaign dissolving into ugly in-fighting and finger-pointing as election loss looms: report

In the waning days of the 2020 presidential election, the campaign of Donald Trump is turning into a hotbed of "paranoia and finger-pointing" as aides to the president are resigning themselves to the fact that re-election is out of reach and now everyone is looking for fall-guys to pin the blame on.

According to a report from Politico, former campaign manager Brad Parscale and current White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are popular targets for the failure of the campaign to catch fire the way it did in 2016, as well as the money problems that has tied the campaign's hands in the last days.

According to Politico's Alex Isenstadt, "Accusations are flying in all directions and about all manner of topics — from allegedly questionable spending decisions by former campaign manager Brad Parscale, to how White House chief of staff Mark Meadows handled Trump's hospitalization for Covid-19, to skepticism that TV ads have broken through. Interviews with nearly a dozen Trump aides, campaign advisers and Republican officials also surfaced accusations that the president didn’t take fundraising seriously enough and that the campaign undermined its effort to win over seniors by casting Democrat Joe Biden as senile."

While high profile Trump officials such as current campaign manager Bill Stepien are putting on a brave face, Politico reports Trump campaign headquarters is riddled with paranoia and internal fighting that is not helping matters as November 3rd looms.

"Senior Republicans say a culture of paranoia has developed in the waning days of the race, with fears mounting that they will be the targets of post-election attacks if Trump loses, which could damage their careers going forward," the report states before adding, "It's not just Parscale getting blamed for Trump's predicament. Some Republican officials are also angry at Meadows for how he managed Trump’s hospitalization. The chief of staff undercut the White House messaging when he told reporters early on that Trump was 'still not on a clear path to a full recovery.'"

Adding to the problems has been a breakdown in communications between Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee, both of which are supposed to be working hand-in-hand to get the president re-elected.

"The dissension has spilled into the final days of the race. In theory, the campaign and RNC are supposed to be working in tandem. But senior Republicans have said the campaign's coordination with the RNC broke down after Parscale's departure, with little communication between the two organizations," the reports states.

Politico is also reporting that some campaign officials are pinning a great part of the blame on the president himself.

"Some people close to the president say he is partly at fault for the fundraising downturn. The president canceled some events during part of the pandemic and, unlike Biden, refused to hold virtual fundraisers," Isenstadt wrote. "Others expressed frustration over his decision to skip the second debate, which would have been an opportunity for him to gain on Biden, and over his erratic behavior in the closing days of the race. Meanwhile, reelection officials were taken by surprise when on the Monday call when he delivered a 30-minute expletive-filled tirade against myriad targets, including Anthony Fauci."

He then added, "If Trump goes down, people who know the president say, don’t expect him to take responsibility."

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