Donald Trump's campaign wants to make him act more presidential. He reportedly isn't pleased.
Contrary to Donald Trump's new aide Paul Manafort's suggestion, the Republican presidential frontrunner isn't actually ready to start acting more presidential, Politico reports. After Manafort told Republican leaders last week that Trump was simply "projecting an image" to win over voters and would soon "evolve" into a more toned-down version of himself, Politico reports that Trump "became upset." So upset, in fact, that he is apparently now giving some of Manafort's new authority back to his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
Although Trump himself has suggested that he plans to become more presidential at some point down the road, Politico reports that "campaign insiders say it has become increasingly clear that Trump, for all his boasts about his ability to become more 'presidential,' is simply unwilling or perhaps unable to follow through, and resents efforts to transform him." Trump reportedly turned down Manafort's planned speech for him after his New York primary victory in favor of coming up with it on the fly and, on Monday, he was back to mocking his competitors, this time hitting Ohio Gov. John Kasich's "disgusting" table manners.
"That's Trump," an operative close to the Trump campaign told Politico. "If you try to force him into a box, he's going to climb out of the box just to prove it to you. If you say he's going to be more presidential, all you did is make him less presidential."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read Politico's full story on Trump's aversion to becoming more presidential and the resulting tensions in the campaign here.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations