Despite Stepien’s insistence that Trump’s struggles in the race against Biden amount to a media-driven narrative, the rise of the new campaign manager followed weeks of anguish within the White House over Trump’s reelection prospects. , and the typically self-assured president privately expressed his concern over his plummeting poll numbers. Last month, the president attended a rally in Tulsa, Okla., He accumulated anger in addition to his anxiety, and Trump deliberately blamed Parscale for the fiasco.
Three people familiar with internal deliberations over the campaign said the shakeup kicked off Tuesday night, when Stepien met privately with Trump at the White House.
Stepien, a 42-year-old hardened political veteran who is known for his organizational approach, has already taken steps to examine the state of the campaign. It has begun to examine its budgets and organizational charts, and people involved in the campaign say it may soon make changes. But it is not clear how extensive these alterations will be with so little time until the elections.
People close to Parscale expressed dissatisfaction with how the night shake unfolded. The Trump family, who were close to the former campaign manager for a long time, were surprised by the move, two people with knowledge of his reaction said.
Parscale was also described as deeply wounded. On Wednesday afternoon, he tweeted a Bible verse: “Bless those who persecute you; bless them and don’t curse them. “
Parscale had moved to Washington for work, but is now expected to return to his Florida home, where he will focus on his data, digital and advertising specialties. However, the extent to which he will be involved in the daily activities of the campaign is uncertain.
Changing managers less than four months after an election is the biggest staff move a presidential campaign can make. But the problems Trump faces seem to be on a different scale than a personal solution. Trump’s popularity levels are near a low point in his presidency, Biden has broad poll leaders, and both public health and the economy are weighing on American minds during the coronavirus pandemic.
The president has made other moves to bolster his campaign with the Republican National Convention just over a month away. Trump also rehired 2016 key aide Jason Miller and Michael Glassner, a loyal president who had been serving as the campaign’s director of operations, was recently demoted.
Some described the sudden change in campaign manager as brutal and compared it to the demotion of Glassner, who learned of his fate not from the season’s most veteran leaders, but from his replacement, Jeff DeWit. Glassner was seen by many in the campaign as the type of fall unfairly designated by Tulsa’s failure.
Parscale has been under a microscope for months, and questions about his fate escalated after the Oklahoma rally. Some people close to the campaign said they felt Parscale was wrong to become a public figure, aggressively promote themselves on social media, and at one point appear in an ad.
Stepien, by contrast, has developed a reputation as a low-profile agent who carefully avoids the limelight. He is rarely quoted in the press and does not seek television interviews,
“He is sensible and discreet, something necessary in a chaotic campaign environment. He is intelligent and analytical. He excels at basic tactics that often go unnoticed on Twitter and cable news shows, but they really decide the campaigns, “said Mike DuHaime, a veteran Republican strategist who has worked with Stepien in many careers.
However, Stepien, who served as political director of the White House after joining Trump’s first campaign in the summer of 2016, has been the subject of public intrigue in the past. Stepien was previously the chief political adviser to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He was a top contender for managing Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign before being fired for emails he sent amid the “Bridgegate” scandal. Stepien has denied knowing about the plan to shut down traffic on the George Washington Bridge and was not charged with any crime.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has asserted tighter control over the political operation in recent weeks, has played a key role in orchestrating staff movements. But some at the White House saw the shake-up as a setback against Kushner, who in 2018 chose Parscale for the job of campaign manager.
Kushner, however, also has close ties to Stepien. Both men hail from New Jersey, a state with a notorious reputation for tough politics.
