Weeks after President Donald Trump's humiliating rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma and amid increasingly negative poll numbers ahead of the 2020 election, Brad Parscale will no longer be Trump's 2020 campaign manager.
Trump assured that Parscale would remain a senior advisor and digital strategies director. He'll be replaced by Bill Stepien, a campaign official of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's who resigned after the infamous Bridgegate scandal. Christie cut ties with Stepien in 2014, citing a lack of confidence in his judgment.
Naturally, the President announced the departure on Twitter.
...campaign. Both were heavily involved in our historic 2016 win, and I look forward to having a big and very important second win together. This one should be a lot easier as our poll numbers are rising fast, the economy is getting better, vaccines and therapeutics will soon...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
...be on the way, and Americans want safe streets and communities!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2020
According to Trump campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley, however, Parscale wasn't demoted at all—just moved to a less important position.
"Let's be clear what happened here. The only thing that shifted was Donald Trump simply asked Bill to steer the ship and Brad to man the guns."
The announcement came a few months after Parscale boasted of Trump's campaign strategy for 2020—a plan which he labeled "The Death Star."
With the news of Parscale's departure, the Death Star jokes once again came rolling in, including one from Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker Star Wars in the franchise.
Much of the credit for the abysmal turnout at Trump's Tulsa rally last month went to teenagers on TikTok, who urged their followers to reserve tickets and not show up. The rally was considered a humiliation not only for Trump, but for Parscale as well.
People hadn't forgotten this either.
Parscale's company was paid millions of dollars by the Trump campaign.
Some noticed Parscale's influx of luxury items like Ferraris over the course of the campaign.
Those may be considered bad investments now.
According to multiple reports, Parscale handed the reins over to Stepien in an emotional meeting at Trump's campaign headquarters.
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