Trump, Trailing Biden by 11%p, Abruptly Replaces Campaign Chief

Bill Stepien, Former White House Political Director, Appointed as Campaign Headquarters Chief
Brad Pascale Replaced as Campaign Headquarters Chief, Becomes Senior Advisor

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] U.S. President Donald Trump, who is significantly trailing in the presidential election approval ratings, has abruptly replaced his election campaign manager. Changing the campaign headquarters chief with less than four months remaining until the election indicates the challenging path ahead for President Trump's re-election bid.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 15th (local time), U.S. media announced that President Trump appointed Bill Stepien, former White House Political Director, as the new head of the presidential campaign headquarters. Brad Parscale, the previous campaign chief, will move to a senior advisor role responsible for digital and data strategy.

President Trump said, "Both of these individuals made significant contributions to the 2016 election victory," adding, "I look forward to achieving a landslide victory in this election with them."

U.S. media view President Trump's sudden replacement of the campaign leadership as closely related to recent poll results. For example, a poll conducted by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and NBC News showed President Trump trailing Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden by 11 percentage points.

Additionally, the recent disastrous rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is believed to have influenced the changes in the campaign team. President Trump attempted to turn the tide at the first rally held since the COVID-19 pandemic, but operational issues were revealed as many seats remained empty.

Because of this, there were strong calls from Trump supporters and election officials to dismiss Parscale. Furthermore, WSJ reported that a change of heart by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior White House advisor, also played a role. Parscale had been able to maintain his position despite negative opinions within the campaign, thanks to Kushner's support, but recently even Kushner has turned against him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.