3/ “ In Aug, Trump started courting 2 of his longtime allies & former campaign managers from 2016, Kellyanne Conway & Lewandowski, discussing what it might look like if they rejoined his political op in formal capacity. Trump told Lewandowski—who promptly agreed to come aboard—he missed the “fun,” freewheeling nature of 1st run for the WH. He told Conway, meanwhile, that he worried he was being overly “managed” by his current team.

Trump’s conversations w Conway troubled Wiles & LaCivita”

4/ “Conway’s back-channeled criticisms of 2024 campaign had been subtle but pointed; in effort to placate her, LaCivita increased her monthly retainer at RNC from $20K a mo. to $30K. But in private convos, Conway continued to point out the campaign’s shortcomings—especially, in her view, the mistaken selection of Ohio Senator J. D. Vance as Trump’s running mate. ..the campaign’s top advisers fretted that their days running the show might be numbered..

In truth, real threat was Lewandowski”

5/ “Most Repubs refused to go along. But Trump found the shtick irresist. Even as he was sequestered in debate prep, word reached him Vance had amplified claims about Springfield. The… advisers were bewildered by Vance’s post. Though they went out of their way to avoid any talk of Springfield for the duration of the debate prep, there was an ominous feeling that Trump wouldn’t be able to help himself.

Yet..Trump charged ahead onstage the following night—“They’re eating the dogs..”

6/ “..campaign was facing a more serious crisis.

…Laura Loomer…After she had joined the candidate aboard his plane.. early in the year, campaign officials discussed ways to sideline Loomer without causing a scene. They neutralized a volatile situation at the convention this summer, for example, by providing Loomer with a front-row seat for Trump’s acceptance speech—putting her in close physical proximity to her idol while keeping her far from the VIP area that cameras would be shooting live.”

7/ “Wiles knew that nothing good could come of this. Still, after one more round of gentle pushback, she acquiesced. (Even people like Wiles..learn that you cannot retain seat at table if you tell the man “no” 1 time too many.) Wiles decided allowing Loomer on the trip was not a hill to die on. Perhaps…it should have been.

When Trump’s jet touched down in Philadelphia on September 10, and photographers captured Loomer disembarking, some of the former president’s allies were apoplectic”

10/ “Wiles confided that she & LaCivita felt they’d lost control of campaign...

Lewandowski..spent weeks digging into finances of the campaign, things weren’t adding up..told Trump..bringing in a private consultant..“Your people are either completely incompetent or they’re stealing from you.”

Trump seemed conflicted. Nothing angered him more than idea of being taken advantage of…Trump instructed Lewandowski to take his concerns to her.

When Lewandowski did so..things quickly went sideways”

11/ [Tons more…skip ahead] “As the race >>conclusion—as constellation of helpers & hangers-on surrounding Trump began positioning themselves to take credit or deflect blame—more than a few people close to the candidate were shopping dirt on their internal rivals. A sense of foreboding settled in over the campaign..

Sure enough Daily Beast pub explosive story alleging LaCivita skimmed huge amounts off top of TV ads, direct mail, and other expenditures, netting him $22 mil..

Trump was livid”

13/ “Less than a week after the détente, LaCivita’s Twitter activity from Jan6, incl liked a tweet that called for Trump to be removed via 25A. Trump told people LaCivita was dead to him…would have no place in his administration or political op going fwd.

That was just fine by LaCivita; always viewed himself as hired gun, his reservations about working for Trump weren’t exactly secret. Still, the word that Trump had iced 1 of his two key lieutenants sent a shiver through the rest of the staff”

15/ Then along came the Puerto Rico moment…

“LaCivita dictated a short statement to the communications team that was blasted out to reporters across the arena, distancing the campaign from Hinchcliffe, while Wiles pulled the former president aside and explained the situation. (Trump, aides told me, was merely annoyed at the time; only after watching television coverage the next morning would he rage about how Wiles, LaCivita, and Caporale had “fucked this up.”)”

17/ “The irony was lost on Miller. He & colleagues spend the coming days savaging Bruesewitz for his recklessness when really—as ever—culprit was a man whose addiction to mayhem creates conditions in which a comedian who was once dropped by his talent agency for using racial slurs onstage cd be invited to kick off closing event w/o single objection raised

“If we can’t trust this kid with a campaign,” Miller said to the group, according to one of the people present, “how can we trust him in WH?”

18/ Via Emptywheel:

The real punchline of TimAlberta's latest profile is that some subset of Trump's OWN STAFFERS agree with #Harris: It's time to turn the page.

Note: Those staffers could reach out to Liz Cheney for directions on how to endorse the Vice President -- it's not too late.

If I were Trump I'd be wondering if those "turn the page" staffers were the ones arranging for the mics that keep failing.

Enemies within and all that?

19/ Via Emptywheel:

Here's the excuse Trump's campaign gave to
Alberta for why he finally kicked Loomer to the curb, which is funny bc her plastic job looks remarkably similar to Guilfoyle's.

& let's be honest: Trump has no prob w/plastic surgery, he has a problem with BAD plastic surgery.

Another silly claim. Everyone first investigated in Crossfire Hurricane was taking advantage of Trump, cashing in on their access to him.

Trump PARDONED Bannon FOR taking advantage of Trump's supporters