Trump official denies idea of campaign shake-up

The former New York City mayor, a top Trump supporter, disputes the suggestion it reflects negatively on campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBSNewYork/AP)- For the first time, Republican Donald Trump says he regrets some of his most heated campaign statements.

Costa also solicited comment from former RNC Chairman Michael Steele who praised the addition of Bannon to the Trump campaign as a “magical” choice that was “pissing off the right people”. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, said unflattering headlines about Manafort were taking a toll.

There are just 83 days left in this election … and for anyone waiting for Donald Trump to suddenly become more responsible, remember what a great American, Maya Angelou, said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them”.

But the NY businessman, who has never held elected office, has also been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent weeks and has lagged Clinton in opinion polls.

Full text of earlier article continues below.

Targeting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over rejigging of his campaign for the second time in two months, his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has said the move will not change his personality.

The AP, citing sources with direct knowledge of the effort, said the transfers were set up in ways to obscure the Ukrainian party’s attempts to sway US policies, using a nonprofit organization to distance funds from Ukrainian politicians. Trump later backed off the comments about ISIS.

Podesta Group Chief Executive Officer Kimberley Fritts said its lawyers worked with those at Mercury to determine that registering under the Foreign Agent Registration Act was unnecessary.

The unashamedly partisan and populist Breitbart was described by Bloomberg a year ago as “a haven for people who think Fox News is too polite and restrained” and Mr Bannon as “the most unsafe political operative in America”.

Mr Bannon’s appointment suggested that Mr Trump is aiming not so much to tone down his aggressive style but to be more disciplined in emphasising themes that resonate strongly with the voters he is trying to court, such as his stances on illegal immigration and withering personal criticism of Mrs Clinton.

Trump said this week he’s overhauling his campaign operation, bringing in a new chief executive and appointing a new campaign manager.

The news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was confirmed early Wednesday by Conway in a brief interview, but she rejected the idea that the changes amounted to a shake-up and said Manafort was not being diminished.

Also Friday, Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators released copies of handwritten ledgers detailing possible cash payments from Ukrainian political figures to Manafort totaling more than $12 million.

One GOP strategist was quoted as saying that Manafort was undone by the combination of revelations about his work in behalf of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine and the elevation of Conway and Bannon. The nonprofit subsequently paid at least $2.2 million to the lobbying firms to advocate positions generally in line with those of Yanukovych’s government.

The Republican National Committee has already conceded it may divert resources away from the presidential contest in favor of vulnerable Senate and House candidates if Trump’s standing does not improve in the coming weeks.

“We need to work together to bridge our divides, not stoke even more divisiveness”, Clinton said at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.