Squirrel-Hair don't need no stinkin' image groomers

Yet another management upheaval in the S-H campaign:

There's trouble in paradise -- if "paradise" is "Donald Trump's historically-unpalatable and logistically-shambolic presidential campaign." After quite a bit of media tongue-wagging about how Trump was finally getting serious by bringing on some seasoned professionals and transitioning to a "more presidential" tone, Trump has reportedly rejected the advice of his top new seasoned professional, Paul Manafort, effectively stripping him of power. Politico has details:

Donald Trump is bristling at efforts to implement a more conventional presidential campaign strategy, and has expressed misgivings about the political guru behind them, Paul Manafort, for overstepping his bounds, multiple sources close to the campaign tell POLITICO...Now Trump is taking steps to return some authority to Manafort’s chief internal rival, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski...campaign insiders say it has become increasingly clear that Trump, for all his boasts about his ability to become more “presidential,” is simply unwilling or perhaps unable to follow through, and resents efforts to transform him...After Trump’s resounding victory in last week’s New York primary, for instance, Manafort handed the candidate a speech he’d written for him that aimed for a more presidential tone, according to two campaign sources. Trump took a quick look at it and told Manafort he’d consider using such a speech down the road, but in the glow of his huge win in his home state, he preferred to wing it...Multiple sources said that Trump in recent days has re-empowered Lewandowski to handle the campaign’s finances and make some hiring decisions, partially reversing changes Manafort laid out this month when seizing some decision-making authority from Lewandowski.

You might say that Lewandowski figuratively grabbed Manafort by the arm and yanked back some control of the campaign.  And thus, the legions of Trump followers who've spent the last week expressing great joy at how marvelous it was that "Mister Trump" was shifting to a new phase of the campaign by altering his tone and conduct (which the candidate himself confirmed was happening) are now doing virtual backflips that Trump is refusing to shift to a new phase of the campaign, declining to alter his tone and conduct.  In cults of personality, the central Hero Figure can do no wrong.  And speaking of the man who admittedly surrounds himself with "unsuccessful people" and never hires anyone who's smarter than he is, Politicoreports that Trump has become alarmed by some of Manafort's connections:

Around the same time, POLITICO revealed that Manafort brought in a handful of operatives who had ties to his lobbying firm, which had developed a niche representing a roster of controversial international clients who have been collectively described as “the torturers’ lobby.” In particular, multiple sources said Trump was bothered by news stories about Manafort’s representation of Saudi Arabia and for a group accused of being a front for Pakistani intelligence. “I don’t think he was aware of the extent of the work that Paul has done in foreign countries that have not always been friendly to the United States,” said a Washington operative with close relationships to the campaign.

So Trump was taken aback by easily-googleable facts about Manafort that he only discovered after hiring the guy to effectively take over his campaign? What a brilliant manager.  Trump is surely destined to make great deals, driven by his preternatural smarts and savvy assessment of complexities. 

This observation pretty much says it all:

"'That's Trump. If you try to force him into a box, he's going to climb out of the box just to prove it to you,' said one operative close to the campaign. 'If you say he's going to be more presidential, all you did is make him less presidential.'" 

But those post-Americans who aren't enamored of the Hillionaire-Bernie vision seem to be going for this in a big way, even though the other man still standing (no, I don't mean the mailman's son) is a principled three-pillared conservative, which is the subject of my next post.