President Donald Trump Replaces Campaign Manager Ahead of US Elections

WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com – President Donald Trump sacked his campaign manager as his popularity continues to take a beating four months before the US presidential election.

President Trump’s management of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has led to sinking popularity in recent months.

Two recent polls further magnified the US president’s tanking popularity on Wednesday.

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In response to these recent events, Trump took to Twitter to announce his campaign manager’s replacement.

Brad Parscale has been replaced by Bill Stepien, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager.

The president praised both men for their efforts and expressed his optimism for the upcoming US presidential election in November 2020.

Trump stated that the election "should be a lot easier" than 2016 "as our poll numbers are rising fast, the economy is getting better, vaccines and therapeutics will soon... be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities!"

In reality, more than 137,000 Americans have died from the Covid-19 virus with confirmed new cases rising in 40 out of 50 states.

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California recently announced it was re-shuttering parts of its massive economy, and President Trump continues to clash with health experts who were given the mandate to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic.

With infection rates that have taken radically different trajectories than those in Europe, the United States is in bad shape — and the president appears to be dodging the subject.

On Wednesday he traveled to Atlanta — not to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an update on the pandemic response as cases spike in the south and west, but to deliver a speech on modernizing America's infrastructure.

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One day earlier he held a long press conference at the White House in which he touched on multiple subjects and vilified his Democratic rival Joe Biden — but barely mentioned the outbreak.

His attempt to discredit respected infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci, who has bluntly warned that the US strategy against the virus is faltering, has flopped.

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Even some voices within his own camp are urging the president to tackle the problem more seriously rather than blame scapegoats.

"We don't have a Dr. Fauci problem," stressed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. "I think any effort to undermine him is not going to be productive." 

(Writer: Jerome Cartillier) 

Source: http://u.afp.com/3hsJ