Washington: Facing a tough re-election battle, President Donald Trump has replaced his campaign manager, on a day when opinion polls showed that his Democratic rival Joe Biden has taken a double digit lead over him.
“I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager,” the president said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.
Stepien, Trump’s former second-in-command, replaces Brad Parscale as the president’s campaign manager, some 16 weeks before the November 3 election.
The shakeup comes as the Trump campaign has sought to revive the momentum amid a coronavirus pandemic that wreaked havoc on a once booming US economy and a national reckoning over race following African-American George Floyd’s custodial death.
Parscale is reported to have been sidelined in recent weeks after Trump’s comeback election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, flopped.
Parscale had boasted that more than one million people registered to attend Trump’s rally, but less than 6,200 showed up at the arena.
“Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the campaign,” Trump said.
“Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together,” he added.
“This one should be a lot easier as our poll numbers are rising fast, the economy is getting better, vaccines and therapeutics will soon be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities!” Trump said.
