Trump is trying to recapture his 2016 magic

Two other new team members include former MAGA Inc. officials. Alex Pfeiffer and Alex Bruesewitz.

The new list comes at a critical time for Trump’s campaign.

Since suddenly placing Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, Trump has struggled to stay on message or come up with an effective line of attack that could slow the vice president’s momentum. Harris has so far beaten the fundraising numbers and managed to close the gap in the polls against Trump in key swing states.

Trump’s allies and supporters have voiced that concern as they implored the former president to focus on the issues instead of lobbying meandering attacks against his Democratic opponent.

Trump himself has expressed his frustrations at the sudden turn in the trajectory of his campaign, which for months appeared to be in his favor before President Joe Biden dropped out of 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.

So comes the comfort of familiar and supportive faces.

Trump clearly isn’t happy with the state of the race, Evan Siegfried, a GOP strategist, told Business Insider, and that can often prompt the integration of those close to the candidate.

“Often when in a position like this with an angry candidate, campaigns bring in people close to the candidate to serve the purpose of keeping them happy and comfortable,” Siegfried said. “Trump and Lewandowski know each other well, and so do the others brought on board. It’s kind of a palliative care arrangement.”

Lewandowski has remained a staunch Trump ally despite being fired from the former president’s 2016 campaign shortly after the Republican primary and his role at a pro-Trump super PAC in 2021.

His ouster in 2016 was followed by several controversies, including an allegation of manhandling a Breitbart reporter at a campaign event. The 2016 campaign denied the allegation, and prosecutors declined to press charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

In 2021, a top Trump donor accused Lewandowski of making unwanted sexual advances toward her and touching her inappropriately at a charity dinner in Las Vegas.

Lewandowski was initially charged with a misdemeanor for the 2021 incident before he struck a deal to drop the charge in exchange for completing impulse training, community service and paying a $1,000 fine, it reported CNN.

Despite the controversy that has followed Lewandowski, Trump has kept an open door to his orbit for his longtime ally.

A spokesman for the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump campaign co-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 make the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical ticket. in American history”.

How the new additions will change campaign strategy remains unclear. Lewandowski was given a “senior adviser” role, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Puck News’ Tara Palmeri also reported that Trump is considering a potential Kellyanne Conway comeback. who became the first woman to run a Republican presidential campaign when she was named Trump’s campaign manager in August 2016.

Conway became a senior adviser during Trump’s White House, but left the administration in August 2020. Since then, he has landed a media gig with Fox News and in August applied to become a lobbyist to represent Ukrainian interests.

Her new lobbying activity has caused some consternation among Trump allies, who believe Conway is capitalizing on 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 bringing Conway back, a Trump aide told Puck News.

“The president wants to bring it in, and some people are upset about that,” the aide told Puck News. “I think Chris and Susie are resigned to 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 the place where they agree with her.”

In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he was excited to bring back familiar faces from previous campaigns.

“Enthusiasm is high and the management team, led by Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, is the best,” Mr. Trump wrote, capitalizing differently. “Many people want to join the campaign for the final push, some from the first two campaigns – and we want as many as we can get!”