Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump parted ways Wednesday with Rick Wiley, a recent hire who served as the campaign’s national political director.
Wiley, who was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign manager prior to joining the Trump campaign, was hired recently to help the campaign ahead of the Republican National Convention in July, but reports suggest a rift with Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski may have sparked the shake up.
“Sources in and around the campaign told POLITICO that Wiley was not responsive to Lewandowski or other officials from the old regime and that he had clashed in recent weeks with Karen Giorno, a Lewandowski ally who ran Trump’s campaign during the Florida GOP primary,” Politico reports.
The Trump campaign released a statement on Wednesday night suggesting Wiley’s position was only temporary:
Rick Wiley was hired on a short-term basis as a consultant until the campaign was running full steam. It is now doing better than ever, we are leading in the polls, and we have many exciting events ready to go, far ahead of schedule, while Hillary continues her long, boring quest against Bernie. We would like to thank Rick for helping us during this transition period.
However, sources indicated to Politico that Wiley was fired after not getting along with Giorno.
“Rick has RNC tattooed on his forehead. He’s not part of the Trump culture,” a Trump source told Politico. “Wiley was someone who didn’t understand what we were able to do, and he wasn’t interested in being a part of the team in the end anyway.”