The shakeup in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign continued Monday night as his national field director resigned.
Stuart Jolly handed in his resignation two days after Mr. Trump elevated his new national political director, Rick Wiley, above Mr. Jolly.
“I left. I wasn’t pushed, I wasn’t shoved, I wasn’t asked to leave,” Mr. Jolly, a longtime ally of embattled campaign chief Corey Lewandowski, told CNN on Monday.
According to a report in Politico, Mr. Jolly was unhappy with the weekend shakeup, which shrunk the number of Lewandowski allies in the Trump inner circle in favor of Mr. Wiley and convention manager Paul Manafort.
“I don’t want to hurt Mr. Trump, and I certainly don’t want to hurt Corey,” Mr. Jolly told CNN, saying the shakeup simply meant it was time to leave.
While the Lewandowski-led circle ran the campaign that pushed Mr. Trump to the status of Republican front-runner, it has been heavily criticized for relying on Mr. Trump’s celebrity and persona, while neglecting the nuts and bolts of campaigning. That shortcoming has cost Mr. Trump delegates and could be critical if Republicans go to a contested convention.
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Mr. Wiley ran the unsuccessful presidential campaign of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whom Mr. Trump repeatedly derided during the Wisconsin primary.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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