Trump Drops Campaign Manager Lewandowski

Donald Trump has dropped his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement: "The Donald J Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign.

"The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future."Mr Lewandowski, who had been with the billionaire real estate tycoon since he launched his White House bid, had been accused of manhandling a female reporter in Florida during the primary campaign.He travelled with the presumptive Republican nominee on his private plane to nearly every campaign stop, granting him more direct access to the businessman than virtually any other campaign staffer.

Mr Lewandowski dismissed the idea that Mr Trump needed to hire more experienced political figures for his campaign, spend on polling and data operations or moderate his statements.

But he had been under pressure in recent months with more traditional party strategists hired by Mr Trump to reshape his campaign operation.

Led by Paul Manafort, the team had been urging Mr Trump to hire more staff and to tone down his fiery rallies.

The tycoon has seen his numbers slide in recent national polls against presumptive Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.

His call for Muslims to be banned from entering the US drew heavy criticism from Republican officials and led to sponsors including Apple and JPMorgan withholding funding for the party's national convention in Cleveland next month.

Campaign sources told the newspaper that Mr Trump was looking to make changes ahead of the convention.

Mr Lewandowski did not respond to requests for comment. He is still scheduled to attend the Cleveland convention as chairman of New Hampshire's delegation.

A campaign insider told the Reuters news agency that some staffers had not yet been informed of his departure.

Source : Sky News