Trump Campaign

The Trump Campaign is being investigated regarding who knew what when and the coordinated efforts between the Campaign and Russian Intelligence/Hackers to influence the election.

June 16, 2015: “Trump announces he is running for president.” Bill Moyers

  • Dan Scavino, Jr., Social Media Director for Trump Campaign and the White House
  • Justin McConney, Director of New Media employed by Trump since 2011
  • Rhona Graff, Donald Trump’s longtime assistant
  • Katrina Pierson Joined November 9, 2015
  • Corey Lewandowski Campaign Manager
  • Hope Hicks Ivanka’s Clothing PR, Corey’s Long-term ex-girlfriend-turned Trump’s closest aid, Joined January 2015
  • Alan Cobb, “initially joined the Trump presidential campaign when the campaign infrastructure was still being developed in March 2015. The Washington Post reported that Cobb’s initial role involved “assisting with recruitment.“[13] Current Witchita, KS, Exec Chamber of Commerce, National Director of State Operations & lobbyist for the Koch‘s Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the executive director of the Kansas chapter of AFP. Campaign work for U.S. Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.).
  • Sam Clovis, Co-chair and policy advisor joined August 25, 2015
  • Paul Manafort, Indicted Campaign Chairman unofficially hired as RNC Convention Manager March 28, 2016, Campaign Chairman June 2016-August 16, 2016  Trump was one of his first clients at a notoriously unethical lobbying firm with Roger Stone going back to 1980.
  • Rick Gates Manafort’s deputy, Indicted
  • George Papadopoulos, joined March 21, 2016, arrested July 27, 2017, Pleaded Guilty and cooperating with the Investigation, Foreign Policy Adviser  Oil and Gas Attorney, Caspian Sea & Eastern Meditteranean Israel, Cyprus, Greece  on Ballotpedia
  • Rick Wiley Trump Campaign from April 13-May 25, 2016 Manafort hired for National Policy. Executive Director of the WI Gov. Scott Walker’s PAC “American Revival” July 13, 2015 & then Walker’s Campaign Manager-Former RNC-WI Get out Vote for Bush Jr., Hired by RNC on June 15, 2016 to oversee National Field Operation.
  • Richard Burt Key to the Mayflower Affair Speechwriter for Trump on April 27, 2016, Lobbyist for Gazprom, Senior Advisory Board for ROSNEFT, Consultant for Jeff Sessions on the National Security Committee, former Reagan State Department official and U.S. ambassador to Germany
  • Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump approached the Mercers about donating to the Trump campaign after Ted Cruz dropped out on May 3, 2016.
  • John Mashburn, joined May 2016; Carleson Center for Public Policy (Koch/Cato-Reagan Welfare Reform), Anti-NEA for Jesse Helms in NC, Pro-Life Activist
  • Jim Murphy, Grass-Roots Specialist for lobbying firm, Bob Dole, Mitt Romney “Jim Murphy joined Trump’s campaign in June 2016, after Trump and former political director Rick Wiley parted ways.” Hired by Manafort.
  • Jason Miller Senior Communications Advisor, Rudy Giuliani and Ted Cruz Presidential Campaigns
  • On June 9, 2016, TRUMP TOWER Kushner, Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. met with Russian representatives to get dirt on Hillary and discussed reversing the Magnitsky Act Sanctions which the Russians retaliated to by stopping American adoptions of its unhealthy and disabled children. Trump’s longtime assistant Rhona Graff was copied on an email from
  • Brad Parscale, Ran Project Alamo with Matt Oczkowski of Cambridge Analytica from San Antonio Giles-Perscale base (although he spends most time between Miami and DC). They received RNC assistance, under the oversight of Jared Kushner  Staffing by June 14, 2016. Son of a senior Janata Dal United politician Indian Billionaire Amrish Tyagi Ovleno Business Intelligence Private Limited worked with Parscale, Tyagi created databases for Trump’s campaign.
  • Rebekah Mercer, ran the Make America Number 1 Super PAC. The Intercept
  • Make America Number 1 Mercer/Conway/Bossie (Citizens United with Breitbart/Bannon) Defeat Crooked Hillary Hating Super-PAC backed Trump after the Cambridge Analytica-backed Ted Cruz campaign failed.  FactCheck  The FEC filing shows June 22, 2016 as the date, Jacquelyn James the Treasurer (2 Roosevelt Ave., Port Jefferson Station, NY,  11776. Deposit Bank is Eagle Bank in DC and Chase Bank for deposit in San Antonio, TX, location of the Project Alamo social media campaign led by Brad Parscale and Cambridge Analytica.  
  • Kellyanne Conway, Campaign Manager August 16, 2016
  • David Bossie, Deputy Campaign Manager August 16, 2016
  • Steve Bannon, CEO of the Campaign, August 17, 2016 NY Times 
  • Mike Pence, backed by Mercer and Koch, became the Head of the Transition Team and Vice President

Cambridge Analytica Part three: The Trump campaign

“Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman, will retain his title and focus on the political shop but was widely seen as being sidelined: Mr. Bannon and Ms. Conway have both developed close relationships with Mr. Trump, and Mr. Bannon is likely to be more amenable to letting him run the sort of media-focused campaign he prefers. “This is an exciting day for Team Trump,” Mr. Manafort wrote in an internal staff memo. “I remain the campaign chairman and chief strategist, providing the big-picture, long-range campaign vision,” he added.”NY Times

  • Gary Coby “A digital staffer who worked with the Trump campaign, Gary Coby, said Facebook would know exactly what the Trump campaign was doing” CNN

BALLOTPEDIA

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Trump Campaign Staff. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles; they are included to provide readers with the most recent news articles on the subject. Click here to learn more about this section.

Donald Trump presidential campaign key staff and advisors, 2016 – Google News Feed

Management and strategy

Individual Role Previous Experience
Steve Bannon Executive chairman •Breitbart News
Kellyanne Conway Campaign manager •Jack Kemp U.S. House
•Marsha Blackburn U.S. House
•Lee Zeldin U.S. House
•Steve King U.S. House
•Dan Quayle
• Newt Gingrich (R) U.S. House
•Ted Cruz U.S. Senate
•Fred Thompson U.S. Senate
•Mike Pence gubernatorial
David Bossie Deputy campaign manager •United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
•Citizens United
•Make America Number 1
Michael Glassner Deputy campaign manager •Bob Dole 1988 presidential
•Bob Dole 1992 U.S. Senate
•Bob Dole 1996 presidential
•George W. Bush 2000 presidential
•Sarah Palin 2008 vice presidential
•SarahPAC chief of staff
Jim Murphy National political director •Gordon Humphrey 1984 U.S. Senate
•National Republican Senatorial Committee
•Bob Dole 1988 presidential
•Brad Gorham 1990 Rhode Island Attorney General
•Bob Dole 1996 presidential•DCI Group
•JLM Consulting
John Mashburn Policy director •Office of Sen. Jesse Helms
•Office of Sen. Trent Lott
•Office of Sen. John Ashcroft
•Office of Rep. Tom Delay
•Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice
•Carleson Center for Public Policy
•Office of Sen. Thom Tillis
Alan Cobb Director of coalitions •Bob Dole 1996 presidential
•Koch Industries
•Tim Shallenburger 2002 gubernatorial
•Mike Pompeo 2014 U.S. House
•Pat Roberts 2014 U.S. Senate
•Americans for Prosperity

Convention and delegate strategy

Individual Role Previous Experience
Barry Bennett Strategist •Rob Portman 1993 U.S. House
•Jean Schmidt 2005 U.S. House
•Rick Perry 2012 presidential
•Liz Cheney 2014 U.S. Senate
•Ben Carson 2016 presidential
Brian Jack National delegate management director •Republican National Committee
•AIPAC
•Ben Carson 2016 presidential
Doug Davenport Delegate strategist •Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly
•GTECH Corporation
•DCI Group
•John McCain 2008 presidential
•Across the Aisle Music
Mike McSherry Delegate strategist •Ronald Reagan 1984 presidential
•George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential
•U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
•George Allen 1993 gubernatorial
•Bob Dole 1996 presidential
•Republican Party of Virginia
•Office of Gov. Jim Gilmore (R-Va.)
•Republican Governors Association
•Republican National Committee
•National Republican Senatorial Committee

Communications

Individual Role Previous Experience
Daniel Scavino Director of social media •Coca-Cola 1998–2003
•Trump Organization Golf Division 2003–2013
Hope Hicks Communications director •Hiltzik Strategies
Justin McConney Director of new media
Jason Miller Senior communications advisor •Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) 2004 U.S. Senate
•Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) 2006 U.S. Senate
•George Allen (R-Va.) 2006 U.S. Senate
•Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential
•Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) 2013 U.S. Senate
•Ted Cruz 2016 presidential
Katrina Pierson National campaign spokesperson •Garland Texas Tea Party
•Ted Cruz 2012 U.S. Senate
•Tea Party Leadership Fund PAC

Advisors

Note: Roger Stone is listed here because of his ongoing relationship to Trump throughout the campaign, which he described in November 2015: “We talk on a semi-regular basis and it’s cordial. But I have no formal — I resigned any formal role. We just talk politics.”[10]

Individual Role Previous Experience
Roger Stone Informal advisor •Richard Nixon 1972 presidential
•Ronald Reagan 1976 presidential
•Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential
•Ronald Reagan 1984 presidential
•Jack Kemp 1988 presidential
•Donald Trump 2016 presidential
Sam Clovis Co-chair and policy advisor •2014 U.S. Senate candidate
•2014 Iowa State Treasurer candidate
•Rick Perry 2016 presidential
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Senior advisor •Mike Huckabee 2002 gubernatorial
•George W. Bush 2004 presidential
•Mike Huckabee 2008 presidential
•John Boozman 2010 U.S. Senate
•Tim Pawlenty 2012 presidential
•Tom Cotton 2014 U.S. Senate
•Mike Huckabee 2016 presidential
Michael Biundo Senior advisor •Pat Buchanan 1996 presidential
•Frank Guinta 2010 U.S. House, 2005 and 2007 Manchester, NH mayoral
•Rick Santorum 2012 presidential
•Mitt Romney 2012 presidential
•Rand Paul 2016 presidential
•John Kasich 2016 presidential
Omarosa Manigault Director of African American outreach

Foreign policy

Individual Role Previous Experience
George Papadopoulos Foreign policy advisor •Hudson Institute
•London Center of International Law Practice
Joseph Keith Kellogg Foreign policy advisor •Army 1967-2003
•Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority 2003-2004
Joseph Schmitz Foreign policy advisor •Managing Director (WDC), Freeh Group International
•CEO, Joseph E. Schmitz, PLLC
•Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, The Prince Group
•Inspector General of the Department of Defense
Walid Phares Foreign policy advisor •Mitt Romney 2012 presidential
• Fox News, Middle East and terrorism expert

State directors

Individual Role Previous Experience
Patrick Davis Colorado •George H.W. Bush 1992 presidential
•Republican Party of South Dakota
•National Republican Senatorial Committee
•Vote 2 Reduce Debt PAC
•Coloradans for Better Schools
•Go America PAC
Jennifer Locetta Florida •Republican Party of Florida
•Richard DeNapoli 2014 U.S. Senate
Eric Branstad Iowa •George W. Bush 2004 presidential
•Iowans for Tax Relief
•America’s Renewable Future
•Matchpoint Strategies
Scott Hagerstrom Michigan •Michigan House of Representatives
•Americans for Prosperity Michigan chapter
•Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals
Mike Lukach Minnesota •Judy Biggert 2012 U.S. House
•Ron Walters 2013 U.S. House
•Stewart Mills 2014 U.S. House
•Scott Walker 2016 presidential
Charles Munoz Nevada •Americans for Prosperity, Nevada
Matt Ciepielowski New Hampshire •Americans for Prosperity, New Hampshire
Jason Simmons North Carolina •Mitt Romney 2012 presidential
•Office of Gov. Pat McCrory
•North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Bob Paduchik Ohio •Office of Gov. Bob Taft (R-Ohio)
•George W. Bush 2000 presidential
•U.S. Department of Energy
•George W. Bush 2004 presidential
•DCI Group
•Rob Portman 2010 U.S. Senate
•American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
•Jeb Bush 2016 presidential
Ted Christian Pennsylvania •Christine Todd Whitman 1997 gubernatorial
•Republican Party of New Jersey
•National Republican Congressional Committee
•George W. Bush 2004 presidential
•Rick Santorum 2006 U.S. Senate
•John McCain 2008 presidential
Ed McMullen South Carolina • South Carolina Policy Council
Pete Meachum Wisconsin •Chief of staff, Office of Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite
•Director of member services, Office of Rep. Kevin McCarthy
•Director of development, American Action Network
Chief of staff, Rep. Sean Duffy

Ballotpedia has identified the following individuals as legal counsel for the Trump campaign:

Other staff

  • Thomas Midanek: Midanek was announced as Trump’s Virignia state director in July 2016 but was transferred out of the state in early September 2016. He was replaced as state director by Mark Kevin Lloyd and Trump operations in Virginia were handled by Mike Rubino, who ran Trump’s Virginia primary campaign.[11]
  • Boris Epshteyn: Epshteyn is a Trump surrogate who made frequent television appearances to expand on and defend Trump’s positions. He previously worked as a communications aide for John McCain‘s 2008 presidential campaign and has experience in the private business sector.[12]

Departures

See also: Presidential campaign staff transfers, resignations and terminations

The following staff members departed Trump’s campaign prior to Election Day.

Carter Page

See also: Carter Page

On September 26, 2016, Page stepped down from Trump’s campaign. Page’s resignation came amid speculation that he had engaged in discussions with top officials in the Russian government while in Moscow for a July speech. According to Yahoo News, U.S. intelligence officials were investigating allegations that Page had “talks about the possible lifting of economic sanctions if the Republican nominee becomes president.”[13]Shortly after the accusations were made, Page left the campaign. He denied the allegations to The Washington Post, saying, “All the ones that are mentioned in the various articles, I didn’t meet with any of those guys. It’s completely false and inconceivable that someone would even accuse me of that.” Page then said he would leave the campaign to avoid further distractions: “This is another distraction that’s been created here. There’s so little time between now and the election, this is in the best interests of the candidate.”[14]

Paul Manafort

See also: Paul Manafort

Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign chair and chief strategist, resigned his position on August 19, 2016, two days after Trump hired Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon as the campaign chief executive and promoted pollster Kellyanne Conway to the position of campaign manager.[8]Manafort originally joined the campaign in March 2016 as convention manager.[15]

Ed Brookover

See also: Ed Brookover

Ed Brookover, Trump’s senior advisor who helped organize the Republican National Convention, was fired from the campaign on August 1, 2016. According to Politico, Brookover’s firing was part of a “campaign shakeup,” and two other Trump aides, William McGinley and Mike McSherry, were set to take on expanded roles in the campaign.[16]

Corey Lewandowski

See also: Corey Lewandowski

On June 20, 2016, it was reported that Corey Lewandowski would no longer be Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign manager.[17]

Ken McKay

See also: Ken McKay

After being hired in April as an advisor to the campaign, McKay left in early June to advise the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now. The super PAC told NBC News that McKay was a volunteer for Trump’s campaign and that his decision to join the super PAC did not violate federal laws on coordination.[18]

Sam Nunberg

See also: Sam Nunberg

Sam Nunberg, an advisor to Donald Trump since early 2014, arranged in February 2014 for Buzzfeed writer McCay Coppins to write a profile on Trump for the website. When it was published, the profile cast Trump in a negative light, calling him “a man startled by his suddenly fading relevance — and consumed by a desperate need to get it back.”[19] When the article appeared, Nunberg was fired.[20] In April 2014, however, Nunberg was rehired to his same position.[21]

On June 16, 2015, Trump announced his bid for the presidency at Trump Tower in New York City.[22] Nunberg remained on the campaign team as an advisor.[23]

Nunberg was again fired from the campaign in August 2015. Business Insider reported on Nunberg’s history of racially charged and provocative social media activities dating back to 2007. The report noted that Nunberg had a history of attacking African American leaders, like Al Sharpton, and President Barack Obama: “Among other things, Nunberg called Obama a ‘Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser’ and ‘Farrakahn’s Messiah.'”[24] According to NBC News, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski called Nunberg a “short-time consultant with the campaign.” Nunberg was terminated on August 2, 2015.[25]

Roger Stone

See also: Roger Stone

Roger Stone left Trump’s campaign during the first week of August 2015. Trump said that he fired Stone, while Stone told the press that he resigned.[26][27] In an interview on April 5, 2016, Stone commented on what he would do if the presidential nominating convention is contested:

“ We will disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved in the steal. If you’re from Pennsylvania, we’ll tell you who the culprits are. We urge you to visit their hotel and find them.[28] ”

[29]

Chuck Laudner and Ryan Keller

See also: Chuck Laudner and Ryan Keller

On March 28, 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s two highest ranking aides in Iowa—State Director Chuck Laudner and Deputy State Director Ryan Keller—were no longer employed by the Trump campaign. Both aides said their contracts had expired, and Keller indicated that “he hadn’t ‘put that much thought’ into whether he would rejoin for the general election.”[30]

Stuart Jolly

See also: Stuart Jolly

National Field Director Stuart Jolly resigned his position on April 18, 2016, after the campaign hired Rick Wiley to be the national political director. According to CNN, “Jolly was a longtime loyalist to Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and Jolly’s departure shrinks the circle of loyal aides Lewandowski has around him as Paul Manafort, Trump’s recent hire to manage the convention strategy, gains more clout in the Trump campaign.” Jolly also stated, “I left. I wasn’t pushed, I wasn’t shoved, I wasn’t asked to leave.”[31]

Rick Wiley

See also: Rick Wiley

On May 25, 2016, National Political Director Rick Wiley and the Trump campaign parted ways. According to Politico, Wiley had previously been in an altercation with Karen Giorno, a Trump advisor who ran the primary campaign in Florida. The article noted, “For weeks, Wiley made appointments and had discussions with Florida Republicans and appeared to be building a new campaign from scratch, sources say. They say he refused, at times, to return Giorno’s calls or take them.” On May 25, the Trump campaign issued a statement, saying, “Rick Wiley was hired on a short-term basis as a consultant until the campaign was running full steam. It is now doing better than ever, we are leading in the polls, and we have many exciting events ready to go, far ahead of schedule while Hillary continues her long, boring quest against Bernie.”[32]