Saturday, November 02, 2024

Inside the Ruthless Restless End Days of Trump's Campaign

Tim Alberta: Even as they battled Democrats in a race that refuses to move outside the margin of error, some of Trump's closest allies spent the closing months of the campaign at war with one another: planting damaging stories, rallying to the defense of wronged colleagues, and preemptively pointing fingers in the event of an electoral defeat.

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Once the debate was behind them - and with many on the inside fearing that the campaign was falling apart - Wiles sensed that Lewandowski was about to make a move. He had repeatedly gone back to Trump, asking for control over hiring and firing as well as veto power over all spending decisions, which would effectively put him in charge of the campaign.

Now he was going all in, telling Trump that Wiles and LaCivita had invested tens of millions of dollars in direct-mail outreach aimed at mobilizing supporters during the early-voting period - money that just so happened to line the pockets of certain campaign staffers, including LaCivita, and that could have been spent instead on television advertising. Lewandowski understood that the only tactical component of campaigning that Trump cared about was TV ads. He was telling Trump not just that he was being stolen from, but that the money in question would have made him ubiquitous on TV.

Sure enough, on October 15, the Daily Beast published an explosive story alleging that LaCivita had skimmed huge amounts off the top of TV ads, direct mail, and other expenditures, netting him some $22 million from his work on behalf of the campaign and a pair of related super PACs. Multiple campaign sources told me that the nature of these arrangements was exaggerated, and that although LaCivita had made plenty of money - and perhaps more than some people were comfortable with - it was nowhere near that amount.

LaCivita was abruptly summoned to Trump Tower on the morning of Friday, October 18... As they settled across from each other, Trump reached for a small stack of paper: a printout of the Daily Beast story. LaCivita, in turn, produced a much thicker stack of paper. For the next half hour, according to several sources with knowledge of the exchange, the two men had it out - profanities flying but voices kept intentionally low - as LaCivita insisted to Trump that he wasn't ripping the candidate off. Trump, the sources said, seemed to vacillate between believing his employee and seething over the dollar figure, wondering how something so specific could be wrong. Finally, after a couple of concluding f-bombs, Trump seemed satisfied. "Okay, I get it, I get it," he told LaCivita, holding up his hands as if requesting that the defense rest.

Less than a week after the dtente, CNN unearthed LaCivita's Twitter activity from January 6, 2021, including his having liked a tweet that called for Trump to be removed via the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. At that point, Trump told several people that LaCivita was dead to him - that he would ride out the remainder of the campaign, but would have no place in his administration or political operation going forward.

Entering the final weekend of October, I noticed something in conversations with numerous Trump staffers: resignation. This home stretch of the campaign hadn't just been hard and stressful; it had been disillusioning. Several campaign officials had told me, throughout the spring and summer, how excited they were about working in the next Trump White House. Now those same people were telling me that they'd had a change of heart. The past three months had been the most unpleasant of their careers. Win or lose, they said, they were done with the chaos of Donald Trump - even if the nation was not.

#1 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-11-02 09:45 AM

This story has nothing to do with the political dynamics of the presidential race and everything to do with just how dysfunctional, manic, and bizarre life in Trump's inner circle truly is, coming from those inside it. It also shows how everyone around him has learned exactly how he must be handled and manipulated in order to keep themselves relevant while fighting off competing internal factions always out to kneecap those who they feel oppose them.

This is simply the type of Machiavellian ethos that Trump demands without a shred of the wisdom or foresight Machiavelli assumed proponents must possess in order to achieve the ruler's desired results.

#2 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-11-02 09:46 AM

Another view...

Trump's anxiety builds with Election Day in sight
www.axios.com

... Donald Trump's team is projecting confidence in the days before what looks to be a coin-flip election, but Trump is anxious, asking more questions about his status and demanding more work from his aides, a campaign official close to him tells Axios.

Why it matters: Trump's restlessness has helped shape his recent strategy, from flashy rallies and media stunts " which he enjoys " to headline-making allegations of voter fraud, his pet obsession.

Zoom in: Trump was boosted Thursday by an internal memo from Tony Fabrizio, the chief pollster for all three of Trump's presidential campaigns, that said Trump is in a better position to win this election than he was at this time in 2020.

- - - But beneath the surface, Trump's anxiety is evident in his late-night and early morning calls to aides in which he peppers them with questions on how things are going " and whether they think he'll win. ...


#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-11-02 06:47 PM

My view ...

Fmr Pres Trump appears to be melting down of late, now only around the edges (as in 2020), but to his core.

I suspect that campaigning for the Oval Office can be stressful, but I also suspect the stress level is not even in the same order of magnitude as occupying the Oval Office.

So, if fmr Pres Trump seems to be this affected by the stresses of campaigning, how will he ever cope with the stresses of the Oval Office?

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-11-02 06:52 PM

He ----- his pants around microphones. You do the ------- math

#5 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-11-02 09:42 PM

@#5 ... He ----- his pants around microphones. You do the ------- math ...

I would not yet go so far as to agree he exudes fecal matter into his pants.

But there does seem to be evidence of him contributing to the methane problem as he stands at a dais delivering his comments. Now those, I'll say, noises seem to be attributed to fmr Pres Ttrump also soiling his pants.

I remain to be convinced of that conclusion.

(and, honestly, I'd really rather not have to go into that discussion ...)


#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-11-03 12:04 AM

I cannot wait to read the upcoming stories about this last week of Trump's campaign, especially today. It will be amazing to find out how the braintrust decided to tell Trump about the Iowa poll if it wasn't already a widely known signpost of what Tuesday may have in store. I also wonder who got tasked with first telling him that the very poll that nailed both of his races in 2016 and 2020 has come out and he's 3 points down to Kamala .... in IOWA. White Iowa. Lilly white Iowa. A state populated mainly by Trump's favorite color of folks. And he's down 3 points.

Somebody somewhere in or around the Trump camp is writing this story as we speak, or Woodward is hooving up all the facts and players for his inevitable next tell-all. It will be riveting reading.

#7 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-11-03 12:06 AM

Thank the King of Chaos. Everything he touches turns to crap. While Trumpers fawned over him as a brilliant businessman, he had his 5th and 6th bankruptcies! He's a fraud, a huckster, a horrible human. His supporters gullible or possessing no morals.

Iowa? ... WOW!

Iowa Poll: Kamala Harris leapfrogs Donald Trump to take lead near Election Day. Here's how

The nationally recognized Iowa Poll shows Kamala Harris picking up support from women to surpass Donald Trump in a ruby-red state he has won twice " a startling reversal for Democrats and Republicans who have all but written off the state's presidential contest as a certain Trump victory.

A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Vice President Harris leading former President Trump 47% to 44% among likely voters just days before a high-stakes election that appears deadlocked in key battleground states.

The poll shows that women " particularly those who are older or who are politically independent " are driving the late shift toward Harris. "It's hard for anybody to say they saw this coming," said pollster J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co. "She has clearly leaped into a leading position."

"Age and gender are the two most dynamic factors that are explaining these numbers," Selzer said.

www.desmoinesregister.com

#8 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2024-11-03 12:26 AM

AU, the thread about the poll is on the Backpage, that's why no one is engaging you.

#9 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-11-03 12:27 AM

TONY

I'm not looking for engagement, just passing along that startlingly good news.

Ann Selzer only does Iowa, has no vested interest besides doing an accurate poll, and has been within a point election after election.

#10 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2024-11-03 12:52 AM

In one last final push for victory Trump has told has staff they will be executed if he loses and brought in a group of armed tough guys to watch everything amd threateb when any staffer falters! Executions will begin early Wednesday morning! Trump is being kept out of the loop and has plausible deniability! His last words to his staff "You better fight hard or you might not be alive!"

#11 | Posted by danni at 2024-11-03 12:56 AM

Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Imagine (1987)
www.youtube.com

My favorite rendition of this tune.

#12 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-11-03 01:00 AM

Vote to End the Trump Era

You already know Donald Trump. He is unfit to lead. Watch him. Listen to those who know him best. He tried to subvert an election and remains a threat to democracy. He helped overturn Roe, with terrible consequences. Mr. Trump's corruption and lawlessness go beyond elections: It's his whole ethos. He lies without limit. If he's re-elected, the G.O.P. won't restrain him. Mr. Trump will use the government to go after opponents. He will pursue a cruel policy of mass deportations. He will wreak havoc on the poor, the middle class and employers. Another Trump term will damage the climate, shatter alliances and strengthen autocrats. Americans should demand better. Vote.

#13 | Posted by tonyroma at 2024-11-03 08:44 AM

#12

That sucked.

Sorry, that's a muzak abomination of abuse to that song.

#14 | Posted by DarkVader at 2024-11-03 10:25 AM

"12-that was perfect, an uplifting version I've never heard before. I've always been amazed by the work you put into involving music into your posts. We're from the same era, so it brings back memories, often memories I had forgotten about. Keep up that great work. Yoda.

#15 | Posted by Yodagirl at 2024-11-03 08:18 PM

Drudge Retort Headlines

Kamala Leads in Iowa (79 comments)

Is America Collapsing Like Ancient Rome? (32 comments)

Greatest Hits Albums, Once a Must Purchase, Lost Their Mojo (31 comments)

Trump Wanted a Gender Election - It Could Be Why He Loses (21 comments)

Idaho Heath Department Is First to Ban Covid Vaccine (20 comments)

Harris Ad Assures Men Their Vote Is Private Also (16 comments)

Trump's Horrific Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein Revealed in New Audio (16 comments)

Tim Sheehy: No Medical Records Exist for My Gunshot Wound (15 comments)