Donald Trump's national political director 'steps back' from campaign

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Ty Wright/Getty Images)

With only 19 days left until the election, Donald Trump's national political director said he has decided to "take a step back from the campaign."

In a statement to Politico, Jim Murphy said he has not resigned, but for "personal reasons" is taking a lesser role. Murphy is a longtime Republican Party operative who joined the Trump campaign in June, and he has been establishing field programs in battleground states and serving as a point man between Trump and the Republican National Committee. Trump is behind in several key states, and some Republicans worry that in swing states, he doesn't have the same exposure as Hillary Clinton.

Numerous Trump aides told Politico that in recent days, Murphy, a friend of Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, hasn't been around. Manafort resigned in August, two months after he replaced Trump's first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.