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There are presidential duties Trump ‘doesn’t want to do’
05/26/16 10:45 AM—UPDATED 05/26/16 04:44 PM
By Steve Benen
Paul Manafort, a controversial Republican lobbyist, joined Donald Trump’s team in late March, and at least initially, his task was to help oversee delegate recruiting. It wasn’t long, however, before Manafort worked his way up to effectively running the entire operation: less than two months after joining the campaign, he’s now Trump’s campaign chairman and chief strategist.
Yesterday, Manafort sat down with the Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman for a fairly long interview, and while the two covered quite a bit of ground, there was one exchange in particular that stood out for me.
“He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn’t want to do. He sees himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.
The vice presidential pick will also be part of the process of proving he’s ready for the White House, Manafort said. He's picked Pence, not exactly a FIREBALL. Pence would probably rather be the may pole guy, the pardon the xmas Turkeys guy.
"I've been watching the news lately and I've been noticing lately that you've been kind of softening up on Mr. Trump's policies and words. Is this going to be your role in the administration?" Schricker said at Pence's Raleigh, North Carolina, town hall.
Pence was at first taken aback. "What did you say that I've been doing?" Pence asked, to laughter. Schricker repeated: "You've been kind of softening up his words and policies."
Pence laughed, and then gave a candid response about his running mate's style, and how it differs from his own.
"Sometimes things don't always come out like you mean," Pence said, before also pledging to stand by the GOP nominee.
"Donald Trump and I are absolutely determined to work together. We have different styles, you might have noticed that. I said at our convention, I said, you know we nominated someone larger than life, known for charisma. So they wanted to kind of balance the ticket."
GOP's long-simmering civil war breaks into the open
Pence's answer comes after Trump's campaign has faced reports of internal conflict over the nominee's handling of several controversies over the past several days.
Trump has publicly feuded with the Khan family - the Muslim parents of a fallen US soldier - and refused to endorse fellow Republicans Sen. John McCain and Speaker Ryan, while attacking New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Pence on Wednesday endorsed Ryan, breaking with Trump.
Pence, who served in Congress for 12 years and has been a governor for four, joked about his own style. He described how someone had posted a caption underneath a picture of him on a motorcycle online, saying, "Born to be mild."
05/26/16 10:45 AM—UPDATED 05/26/16 04:44 PM
By Steve Benen
Paul Manafort, a controversial Republican lobbyist, joined Donald Trump’s team in late March, and at least initially, his task was to help oversee delegate recruiting. It wasn’t long, however, before Manafort worked his way up to effectively running the entire operation: less than two months after joining the campaign, he’s now Trump’s campaign chairman and chief strategist.
Yesterday, Manafort sat down with the Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman for a fairly long interview, and while the two covered quite a bit of ground, there was one exchange in particular that stood out for me.
“He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn’t want to do. He sees himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.
The vice presidential pick will also be part of the process of proving he’s ready for the White House, Manafort said. He's picked Pence, not exactly a FIREBALL. Pence would probably rather be the may pole guy, the pardon the xmas Turkeys guy.
"I've been watching the news lately and I've been noticing lately that you've been kind of softening up on Mr. Trump's policies and words. Is this going to be your role in the administration?" Schricker said at Pence's Raleigh, North Carolina, town hall.
Pence was at first taken aback. "What did you say that I've been doing?" Pence asked, to laughter. Schricker repeated: "You've been kind of softening up his words and policies."
Pence laughed, and then gave a candid response about his running mate's style, and how it differs from his own.
"Sometimes things don't always come out like you mean," Pence said, before also pledging to stand by the GOP nominee.
"Donald Trump and I are absolutely determined to work together. We have different styles, you might have noticed that. I said at our convention, I said, you know we nominated someone larger than life, known for charisma. So they wanted to kind of balance the ticket."
GOP's long-simmering civil war breaks into the open
Pence's answer comes after Trump's campaign has faced reports of internal conflict over the nominee's handling of several controversies over the past several days.
Trump has publicly feuded with the Khan family - the Muslim parents of a fallen US soldier - and refused to endorse fellow Republicans Sen. John McCain and Speaker Ryan, while attacking New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Pence on Wednesday endorsed Ryan, breaking with Trump.
Pence, who served in Congress for 12 years and has been a governor for four, joked about his own style. He described how someone had posted a caption underneath a picture of him on a motorcycle online, saying, "Born to be mild."