Chuck DarwinTrump adds five new handlers as he tries to find attack lines against Harris
Trump brought Taylor #Budowich, Alex #Pfeiffer and Alex #Bruesewitz from the Trump-aligned "Maga Inc" political action committee,
as well as previous Trump campaign veterans Corey #Lewandowski and Tim #Murtaugh.
The new additions are coming onto the Trump campaign as "senior advisers", meaning they are lateral hires to a campaign still being run by co-campaign chiefs Susie #Wiles and Chris #LaCivita, the people said.
Lewandowski previously ran the 2016 campaign but does not have the same role now.
He has remained an "informal adviser" to Trump since the first presidential campaign, and will continue that function but in a more formal capacity through the final stretch to November, one of the people said.
Murtaugh, who was the communications director for the 2020 campaign, is returning in a broader role, as will Budowich, Pfeiffer and Bruesewitz, one of the people said.
Bruesewitz has a large online following and is expected to help direct social outreach.
The additions came after senior aides on the Trump campaign found themselves open to criticism and challenges to their positions after perhaps the rockiest stretch for the campaign since it launched in 2022, the Guardian has previously reported.
The summer months have historically been the time that Trump makes changes to his campaign chiefs, as he did in 2016 when he installed Kellyanne #Conway, Steve #Bannon, and David #Bossie to take the reins,
as well as in 2020, when he replaced Brad Parscale with Bill #Stepien.
The past month has been bad enough for the Trump campaign that advisers have taken those challenges
– whether from enemies real or perceived
– as serious threats or slights that necessitate devoting time and effort to #slap #down