Donald Trump's national political director leaves campaign


On Wednesday night, the Donald Trump campaign announced it had parted ways with Rick Wiley, its national political director.
Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not respond to Politico's inquiry of whether Wiley was fired or resigned, but sources say he was fired. Wiley was hired by Paul Manafort, who joined the Trump campaign in late March as chairman, and sources say he never clicked with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Sources tell Politico Wiley also clashed with Karen Giorno, who ran Trump's campaign during the Florida Republican primary. He would often refuse to take her calls or return her emails, and after she shared this information with Trump, he ordered Wiley to keep away from Giorno and not call her or email her, the sources said.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said Wiley was "hired on a short-term basis as a consultant until the campaign was running full steam," and now it is "doing better than ever." A Trump source told Politico that Wiley, who served as campaign manager for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) during his failed bid for the Republican nomination, "has RNC tattooed on his forehead. He's not part of the Trump culture. Wiley was someone who didn't understand what we were able to do, and he wasn't interested in being a part of the team in the end anyway."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot