Donald Trump’s campaign remains jittery about the prospect of a power struggle inside the inner circle that could become a major distraction just months until the 2024 election, even if the jockeying for influence by top officials has ended with a truce, according to people familiar with the matter.
The momentary power play among the senior advisers is widely seen to be over, for now, after the 2016 campaign chief, Corey Lewandowski, distanced himself from suggestions he was returning to the fold to run the campaign and the current leadership remained in their roles.
But there has been trepidation that if the Trump campaign hits more rough patches in the race against Vice-President Kamala Harris, any disagreements for instance on strategy between Lewandowski and the current chiefs, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, could cause a blow-up, the people said.
The concern is apparently less to do with uncertainty about who would prevail – Trump has repeatedly expressed faith in Wiles and LaCivita, who come as a package deal – and more the distraction when Harris has drawn roughly level in key swing state polls with 70 days until the election.
The Trump campaign has had its hands full as it has endured its rockiest period since it launched, with Trump suddenly finding himself on the defensive as he tries to frame effective attack lines against Harris and break through the news cycle that has been dominated by positive coverage for the Democratic ticket.
While Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee, Trump had carved out a clear lead, especially in the vital swing states that will decide the election. But since Biden stepped down just over a month ago after a disastrous debate performance, Harris has wiped that advantage.
Harris’s decision to pick the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, as her running mate has been largely seen as successful, while Trump’s pick of the Ohio senator JD Vance has been widely panned and Vance has been the subject of mocking memes and Democratic attacks.
The Trump campaign is also trying late in the election cycle to prepare a larger ground game in battleground states, run Trump through a slew of rallies and prepare him for a crunch presidential debate in September – while Harris’s honeymoon period continues with a vengeance.
What the campaign cannot afford, the people said, is a sapping power struggle like a clash between LaCivita, who is ensconced, and Lewandowski, who has remained close to Trump despite being ousted from a Trump-aligned Pac after a donor’s wife complained of unwanted sexual advances.
“All of these fabricated stories about the campaign are nothing more than click bait. None of these palace intrigue stories have been remotely correct,” Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement about reporting for this story.
“The fact remains— President Trump has put together the best political team in campaign history from the very start when he announced and we are all committed to victory so he can return to the White House and save this country.”
The jitters have calmed down for now because no one expects Lewandowski or anyone else to become the head of the Trump campaign, after the other senior advisers in effect revolted at the idea of Lewandowski taking over and privately complained to Trump, the people said.
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The morning that Trump formally decided to add Lewandowski to the campaign leadership, Trump told his team to “find something for Corey to do”, according to two people in the room.
And when word reached the other senior advisers that there had been chatter about Lewandowski supposedly coming in to run the campaign, Trump re-expressed faith in Wiles and LaCivita in private and in public at a press conference at his Bedminster club in New Jersey.
Lewandowski, a veteran of Trumpworld, ultimately distanced himself from suggestions he would be joining the campaign above Wiles and LaCivita. But the entire episode was still viewed as a soft attempt at a coup and not appreciated, the two people in the room said.
Unlike previous iterations in 2016 and 2020, when Trump replaced his campaign chiefs in the summer amid internal infighting, the 2024 campaign has been a closer-knit group that has eschewed factionalism and has desperately sought to avoid a culture of needing to look over their shoulder.
The Trump senior advisers have been increasingly concerned at the growing palace intrigue in recent weeks, which started after Trump met with his daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair, Lara Trump, and his former 2016 campaign chief Kellyanne Conway on 2 August.
The Guardian has previously reported that Conway said she never mentioned names or titles at the meeting, and principally spoke to Trump about strategy. But either way, the Conway meeting raised hackles internally and exacerbated concern about the Lewandowski saga, the people said.