Brad Parscale has been replaced as President Donald Trump’s campaign manager by current deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien.
Trump announced the change Wednesday via Twitter, adding that Parscale will stay on as a senior adviser responsible for “digital and data strategies.”
“I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager,” Trump tweeted Wednesday evening. “Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the campaign.”
“Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together,” he continued. “This one should be a lot easier 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!”
I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager. Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
…campaign. Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together. This one should be a lot easier as our poll numbers are rising fast, the economy is getting better, vaccines and therapeutics will soon…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
…be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
Stepien, a GOP operative who managed former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s campaigns for governor, served as White House political director and an adviser for former Democratic-turned-Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s 2020 reelection campaign before assuming the role of deputy campaign manager late last year.
Parscale was appointed Trump’s campaign manager in February 2018 and played a key role in setting up the digital fund-raising apparatus that helped the campaign raise money when the coronavirus outbreak made in-person fundraising impossible, the New York Times reported.
“Brad and Bill were both unsung heroes of the 2016 campaign and have done a great job building the infrastructure for the president’s campaign for the 2020 race,” Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner told the Times. “Together they both bring unique strengths.”
Parscale was widely criticized and suffered what the Times called a “mortal wound in the role” after a June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma saw a much smaller crowd than advertised. (RELATED: Geraldo Rivera Sees A Potential ‘Clear Path To Reelection’ For Trump)
While the president began 2020 on relatively solid footing, the federal response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and protests and riots sparked by the death of George Floyd have eroded his support. Trump currently faces double-digit deficits nationally and is losing all the battleground states by significant margins.