President Trump's lightly attended Tulsa campaign rally fell so far short of the campaign's own metrics that even as spin-happy a place as the White House was hard-pressed to find good things to say about it. "As always with Trump, he's already looking for someone to blame," Gabriel Sherman reports at Vanity Fair. "The most obvious candidate, according to sources, is his embattled campaign manager, Brad Parscale." Trump associates, staff, and allies also directed blame at Michael Glassner, the campaign's chief operating officer, The Daily Beast adds.
The rally "was a disaster and I think the reality is that it's not a good way to start a general election campaign," Ed Rollins, the veteran GOP strategist who leads the pro-Trump group Great America PAC, told The Daily Beast. Trump himself was "rambling" and had "no message" but he should also "get a campaign manager who is running a campaign, not companies outside of it," Rollins added. "My sense is [Parscale's] making way too much money," and "something is not working and something has to change." A Republican close to the White House was less polite, telling Vanity Fair, "Brad really sh-t the bed Saturday night."
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.
The Tulsa imbroglio isn't the only problem besetting the Trump campaign — the president's poll numbers are dropping, and Democratic rival Joe Biden raised more money and, more importantly, more small-dollar contributions last month, The Daily Beast details. Trump also blames Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and shadow campaign chief, Vanity Fair reports, and among those under consideration to replace Parscale are three 2016 staffers Kushner sidelined: Miller, David Bossie, and Trump's first campaign manger Corey Lewandowski. A person close to Trump poured a cold Slurpee on the Lewandowsi suggestion, though: "Corey was great when it was just Trump and an airplane. But let's face it, he couldn't manage a 7-Eleven."
-
What a rising gold price says about the global economyThe Explainer Institutions, central banks and speculators drive record surge amid ‘loss of trust’ in bond markets and US dollar
-
‘Laughing stock’: Anthony Joshua’s £140m bout with Jake PaulTalking Point Boxing fans have expressed concerns the YouTuber may not survive the fight with British heavyweight
-
A dreamy skiing adventure in NisekoThe Week Recommends Light, deep, dry snow and soothing hot springs are drawing skiers to Japan’s northernmost island
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
