Posted on 08/08/2015 2:35:08 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A major political strategist has left Donald Trump’s 2016 GOP presidential candidate, a new report says — but it’s unclear who severed the relationship.
Roger Stone is no longer aiding the outspoken billionaire’s quest for the White House, according to CNN.
Reports conflicted on Saturday over whether Stone’s departure was a firing or a resigning, the news outlet added.
“Mr. Trump fired Roger Stone last night,” a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign told CNN on Saturday.
“We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity. He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to make America great again.”
Stone contradicted that version of events, CNN said, by providing the media organization with his resignation letter Saturday.
“Unfortunately, the current controversies involving personalities and provocative media fights have reached such a high volume that it has distracted attention from your platform and overwhelmed your core message,” the document says. “With this current direction of the candidacy, I no longer can remain involved in your campaign.”
“I care about you as a friend and wish you well,” Stone also reportedly tells Trump in the letter. “Be assured I will continue to be vocal and active in the national debate to ensure our nation does not again turn to the failed and distrusted Bush/Clinton families.”
Stone elaborated further on his exodus from the Trump political machine in a post on his Twitter Saturday afternoon.
“Sorry @realDonaldTrump didn’t fire me – I fired Trump,” he tweeted. “Disagree with diversion to food fight with @megynkelly away core issue messages.”
Trump inspired national shock by criticizing Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly on Friday evening, after a verbal exchange the night before.
Kelly, a moderator in the GOP’s first televised presidential debate Thursday, interrogated Trump over his past remarks towards women.
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her – wherever,” Trump told CNN host Don Lemon on Friday night.
Critics have since pounced on Trump’s statement as crude and demeaning.
It also got the reality TV star disinvited from the RedState Gathering, an annual conservative forum taking place this weekend in Atlanta.
The New York business mogul’s presidential campaign responded by defending its figurehead in a statement published Saturday morning.
“Mr. Trump made Megyn Kelly look really bad – she was a mess with her anger and caught totally off guard,” Trump’s political team said in a statement.
“Mr. Trump said, ‘blood was coming out of her eyes and whatever,’ meaning her nose, and wanted to move on to more important topics,” it said. “Only a deviant would think anything else.”
The GOP’s crowded 2016 field has since dogpiled on Trump, sensing vulnerability in the frontrunner for their party’s nomination.
Multiple Republican White House hopefuls have denounced the real estate kingpin’s rhetoric as an embarrassing gaffe.
- Updated at 3:44 p.m.
Roger Stone is a sleaze. He’s been around as a political operator since Nixon. He has had his share of controversy. Surprised Trump picked him as a high end adviser.
Or if one of their spokemen spoke like Roger Stone, long time friend and employee of Trump. Sounds like things are pretty explosive on The Donald front. Someone had to bleed.
“................A spokesperson for the Trump campaign told DailyMail.com that it was The Donald who ended things with Stone, however. Not the other way around.
‘Mr. Trump fired Roger Stone last night,’ the campaign official said. ‘We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity.’
‘He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to Make America Great Again.’
Earlier this week Stone took a lashing from media personalities Roland Martin of TV One News, who is black, Ana Navarro, a GOP strategist and CNN analyst who is Hispanic, and Geraldo Rivera of Fox News after he criticized them as ‘quota hires.’
‘Ana Navarro the dumbest person on TV since CNN fired moron @rolandmartin - both quota hires,’ he said. ‘If u have and heard Ana Nararro and Roland Martin they are so dumb and unqualified that one can reach no other conclusion.’
In another Tweet Stone attacked Rivera, also Hispanic, saying: ‘@GeraldoRivera is an embarrassing hack fired by FOX for his lack of ratings. Ailes kept him around long past any value. #pathetic’
Rivera ripped into in a reply tweet and said, ‘when I see you around Fox News I’m going to kick your racist a** punk.’
On other occasions, Stone has directed his ire at the Bush family on Twitter, claiming earlier this summer that family matriarch Barbara Bush ‘was stinking drunk at Jeb’s announcement’ and tagged it with the hashtag ‘s**t-faced.’
More here:
“.......Stone is a veteran Republican strategist who once worked for President Richard Nixon, and has been one of Trump’s closest confidantes for a lengthy period of time. He was the chairman of Trump’s exploratory presidential committee in 2000, and a source close to Stone said they have been friends for about 35 years. Costa described Stone as Trump’s “longest serving adviser.”
The split between Trump and Stone follows extensive infighting on Trump’s campaign that spilled out from behind the scenes after a July 31 story from Business Insider that revealed a long history of racially charged Facebook posts that were made by former adviser Sam Nunberg. Following the story, last Sunday, the Trump campaign fired Nunberg, who was a protege of Stone’s and had clashed with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
After Nunberg’s firing, anonymous allies of his told multiple media outlets they believed Lewandowski was somehow responsible for the Business Insider story about his Facebook posts. Lewandowski was not involved in uncovering Nunberg’s social media history, but the tension between the two camps on the campaign increased to the point that New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman described the situation as a “civil war.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-roger-stone-2015-8
>> of low esteem as the deviant Roger Stone <<
Stone and Trump are old buddies, going back 40 years or so.
Do you know he actually fired him?
All of you assume this is the case...while ignoring what his adviser said about the campaign...
Convenient
He’s been friends with Trump for 35 years.
We will never get the candidate we want if we continue to let the media vet our choices, Trumps comments didn’t offend me
>> [Stone] is and has always been a self-promoting schmuck <<
Isn’t there some old, old proverb about birds of a feather?
That's fine to a point. But do you really want a president who attacks every reporter who dares ask him a question he doesn't like? Is he going to have an enemies list sent to the IRS? I like what Trump has been saying, and I like that he fights back, but he needs to be a bit more presidential. He should have just said her question was unfair in that format, and not gotten into a personal food fight with Kelly.
As for those offended on behalf of Kelly, they need to get over it too. Megan is no wilting maiden. She chatted and laughed with Howard Stern over questions about the size of her boobs, her husband's penis, and sex during pregnancy. Miss Meagan will be fine.
Trump is a liberal. Never trust or believe a liberal.
I’m not going to say this guy is correct in this video, but he IS saying exactly what I believed has been going on against Donald Trump! Trump is going to win the presidency or be destroyed by a combination of very wealthy people who are going to try their hardest to defeat him or kill him.
These are very dangerous times for Trump and he’s going to need everyone who loves this country to support him as well as protect him from harm.
ALL our lives may depend upon it!
Wow. Certainly reassuring about this man’s ability to run a political organization.
The only thing that will sink Trump is his own mouth (or Twitter fingers), not some cabal of billionaires.
Getting rid of Stone is a good sign that means Trump is getting serious about winning. Stone is bad news always has been.
That Roger Stone?
Did someone set Trump up for further embarrassment?
Was he a spy?
I see you are paying very close attention to what is truly happening so I will defer to your expertise on national affairs.
I will leave you with one thought to ponder while you back stab the one person trying to save your stupid a$$.
What if your wrong?
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/236651-trump-cruz-faces-hurdle-for-canadian-birthplace
What did you think when Trump went after Ted Cruz?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.