Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has reshuffled his campaign team for the second time in two months, recruiting Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of conservative political website Breitbart, as his chief executive.
The New York businessman has promoted veteran Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager in a move seen as diluting the role of Paul Manafort, who will remain chairman and chief strategist of the property developer's team.
The changes come against the backdrop of Mr Trump's poorly received campaign attacks and gaffes, which have led to falling poll numbers, particularly in battleground states that he must win if he has any chance of beating the Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8th election.
Earlier this week, Mr Manafort, who took over the running of Mr Trump's campaign when the businessman fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in June, was linked to an anti-corruption investigation in Ukraine, where he worked as a political consultant to the country's pro-Russian former president, Viktor Yanukovych.
Ukrainian ties
The Associated Press raised further questions about the ties between Mr Trump’s team and the former pro-Kremlin Ukrainian regime, reporting yesterday that Mr Manafort and another Trump aide,
Rick Gates
, had failed to disclose their efforts at influencing US policy on behalf of Mr Yanukovych’s then governing party.
Mr Trump has been sharply criticised for adopting conciliatory policies toward the Kremlin and embracing a friendly approach to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The recruitment of Mr Bannon, an equally divisive figure, raised eyebrows, prompting speculation that Mr Trump had rejected plans to moderate his campaign messages in a pivot to the centre to attract swing voters. The Breitbart website takes far-right positions on a number of contentious issues.
The unashamedly partisan and populist Breitbart was described by Bloomberg last year as "a haven for people who think Fox News is too polite and restrained" and Mr Bannon as "the most dangerous political operative in America".
A former naval officer and one-time Goldman Sachs executive, Mr Bannon made his money from investment banking work in the media industry and royalties from stakes in television shows such as the hit comedy Seinfeld. He hosts a conservative radio programme and makes documentaries attacking left-wing groups such as the Occupy movement.
Taking aim
The Clinton campaign slated Mr Trump’s recruitment of the Breitbart chief, with her campaign manager,
Robby Mook
, taking aim at the conservative website.
“After several failed attempts to pivot into a more serious and presidential mode, Donald Trump has decided to double down on his most small, nasty and divisive instincts by turning his campaign over to someone who’s best known for running a so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” Mr Mook told reporters.
The appointment showed that the Republican nominee had won the fight with the party’s establishment to “let Trump be Trump”.
While Republicans welcomed the promoted role of Ms Conway, seeing her enhanced role as a chance to improve Mr Trump’s poor standing among women with a more carefully crafted message, many baulked at Mr Bannon’s recruitment.
"Trump is gambling that there are more outsiders than insiders, that he is going to put all his money on the outsiders and if he is the outsider candidate, then this guy could help him become much more of an outsider," said Republican strategist John Feehery.
“The biggest problem for Trump is the lack of credibility, and I think hiring this guy hurts his credibility even more.”
