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Trump’s campaign has struggled to get going since Kamala Harris stormed into the race.
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The team is now adding some familiar faces as polls and fundraising numbers disappoint.
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One of them is Corey Lewandowski, a staunch Trump ally who was part of the former president’s 2016 campaign.
There’s a small reunion taking place within the Trump campaign.
Amid disappointing polling and fundraising numbers, former President Donald Trump’s team has confirmed to multiple news organizations that it is hiring five new staffers, including several former campaign officials.
The new members include Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former 2016 campaign manager who was fired but still had close ties to the former president; Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s communications director for the 2020 campaign; and Taylor Budowich, a former senior adviser who led the pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc.
Two other new team members are former MAGA Inc. officials Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz.
The new selection comes at a crucial time for Trump’s campaign.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris suddenly found herself at the top of the Democratic ticket, Trump has struggled to stay on task or find an effective line of attack that could slow the vice president’s momentum. Harris has so far smashed the fundraising numbers and managed to close the polling gap with Trump in crucial swing states.
Trump’s allies and supporters have expressed concern, pleading with the former president to focus on the issues rather than just attacking his Democratic opponent.
Trump himself has expressed frustration with the sudden turn in the course of his campaign. For months, it looked like the course would be in his favor, until President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
“It’s unfair that I beat him and now I have to beat her,” Trump said of Biden and Harris in a phone call with an ally, according to The Washington Post.
Then there is the comfort of familiar and supportive faces.
Trump is clearly unhappy with the state of the race, Republican Party strategist Evan Siegfried told Business Insider, which can often lead to people close to the candidate aligning with him.
“Oftentimes, when you’re in that position with an angry candidate, campaigns will bring in people who are close to the candidate to serve the purpose of keeping them happy and comfortable,” Siegfried said. “Trump and Lewandowski know each other well, as do the others who have been brought on board. It’s kind of a palliative care arrangement.”
Lewandowski has remained a staunch ally of Trump, despite being fired from the former president’s 2016 campaign shortly after the Republican primaries and from his position at a pro-Trump super PAC in 2021.
His 2016 ouster was followed by several controversies, including an accusation that he assaulted a Breitbart reporter at a campaign event. The 2016 campaign denied the allegation, and prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was not enough evidence to convict him.
In 2021, a major Trump donor accused Lewandowski of making unwanted sexual advances toward her and inappropriately touching her during a charity dinner in Las Vegas.
Lewandowski was initially charged with a misdemeanor for the 2021 incident, but struck a deal to drop the charges in exchange for completing an impulse training program, community service and paying a $1,000 fine, CNN reported.
Despite the controversies that Lewandowski has brought with him, Trump has kept the door to his sphere of influence open for his staunch ally.
A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita told Politico in a statement that the new hires “are all veterans of previous Trump campaigns, and their unparalleled experience will help President Trump prosecute the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical candidate in American history.”
How the new additions will change the campaign’s strategy remains unclear. Lewandowski was given a role as a “senior adviser,” Trump wrote in a message on Truth Social.
Puck News’ Tara Palmeri also reported that Trump is considering a possible comeback for Kellyanne Conway, who became the first woman to lead a Republican presidential campaign when she was named Trump’s campaign manager in August 2016.
Conway became a senior adviser during the Trump White House but left the administration in August 2020. She has since held a media job at Fox News and in August filed to represent Ukrainian interests as a lobbyist.
Her new lobbying efforts have raised eyebrows among Trump’s allies, who believe Conway is exploiting her ties to the former president, a former Trump White House official told The New York Times.
Still, Trump and his two campaign managers appear open to the idea of bringing Conway back, a Trump adviser told Puck News.
“The president wants to bring her in, and some people are upset about that,” the adviser told Puck News. “I think Chris and Susie have come to terms with the fact that there’s been a big change — we have a new candidate and a new VP — and we have to change. They’re both in a place where they’re OK with it.”
Trump said in a social media post Thursday that he was excited to bring in familiar faces from past campaigns.
“The enthusiasm is great and the management team, led by Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, is the best,” Trump wrote, writing in alternating capital letters. “A lot of people want to join the campaign for the final push, some from the first two campaigns — and we want as many as possible!”
Read the original article on Business Insider
