--- title: Another Big Donald Trump Campaign Shakeup description: Donald Trump is shaking up his campaign staff after weeks of sliding polls and turmoil. And he gets his first classified briefing today. canonical: https://time.com/4455678/another-big-donald-trump-campaign-shakeup/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-17T14:09:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:01:50.782Z article:section: Politics og:title: Another Big Donald Trump Campaign Shakeup og:description: Donald Trump is shaking up his campaign staff after weeks of sliding polls and turmoil. And he gets his first classified briefing today. og:url: https://time.com/4455678/another-big-donald-trump-campaign-shakeup/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe72909db449ee63/6988a2a88e0601df904672c5/trump-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Fairfield , Connecticut og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Another Big Donald Trump Campaign Shakeup twitter:description: Donald Trump is shaking up his campaign staff after weeks of sliding polls and turmoil. And he gets his first classified briefing today. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe72909db449ee63/6988a2a88e0601df904672c5/trump-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Another Big Donald Trump Campaign Shakeup > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 17, 2016 2:09 PM UTC  Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Fairfield, Connecticut, Aug. 13, 2016. Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Fairfield, Connecticut, Aug. 13, 2016. Michelle McLoughlin—Reuters by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Aug 17, 2016 2:09 PM UTC **_If you only read one thing:_** _For the second time in as many months, Donald Trump is shaking up his campaign. The latest move is the announcement early Wednesday that Breitbart CEO Stephen Bannon has been named the CEO of Trump’s campaign and veteran pollster Kellyanne Conway will serve as campaign manager. The latter post has been unfilled since June, when Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski after an elongated power struggle with campaign chairman Paul Manafort._ _Coming on the heels of weeks of sliding polls and campaign turmoil, the moves represent something of a demotion for Manafort, who was originally brought in to manage Trump’s delegate operations but rose to command nearly all aspects of the campaign after Lewandowski’s ouster. The change, hammered out over the weekend at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, reflects an effort by Trump to right his campaign, as Republican groups mull writing off his White House effort to save the Senate and vulnerable House seats. Trump, who increasingly felt ‘managed,’ according to a campaign source, looked to Bannon, a campaign novice whose website has encouraged Trump’s more antagonistic tendencies, to return his campaign to Lewandowski’s mantra, ‘Let Trump be Trump.’_ _In an interview with TIME last week, Trump indicated he was frustrated by aides telling him to be more presidential—even as he seemed to buck their advice on live television. “I’m now listening to people that are telling me to be easier, to be nicer, be softer,” Trump said. “That’s OK, and I’m doing that. Personally, I don’t know if that’s what the country wants.” Breitbart has served as a megaphone for some of Trump’s most controversial policy proposals and political attacks, with the website espousing similar nativist and populist views. Conway, a pollster who appears frequently on television, is longtime advisor to Trump running-mate Mike Pence and ran a pro-Ted Cruz super PAC during the primaries. She has been advising the Trump campaign since June, but her new role provides her with more say over the campaign’s messaging, according to a person familiar with the new campaign structure._ _With under 12 weeks until Election Day, Trump is running out of time to reset his campaign, but the reshuffling, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, has campaign aides believing that Trump has decided that he’s going to remain the bombastic candidate that overthrew the GOP establishment to seize Republican nomination—win or lose._ Donald Trump is set to receive his first classified national security briefing in New York City Wednesday. He will be joined by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, his transition chairman, and Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, according to a campaign aide. How Russia saw Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech. The FBI defends its recommendation not to charge Clinton. And Trump appeals to black voters. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [How Russia Saw Donald Trump’s Big Speech On Foreign Policy](http://time.com/4454644/russia-donald-trump-foreign-policy/) What matters to Moscow is not Trump’s rhetoric but the fact that a candidate like him has gotten this far, TIME’s Simon Shuster writes [Manafort tied to undisclosed foreign lobbying](http://bigstory.ap.org/c01989a47ee5421593ba1b301ec07813) Effectively obscured the foreign political party’s efforts to influence U.S. policy. \[Associated Press\] [FBI defends decision not to charge Clinton as it submits probe documents to Congress](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/08/16/hillary-clinton-interviews-by-fbi-have-been-delivered-to-congress/) Clinton campaign requests documents be released publicly \[Washington Post\] [Trump accuses Clinton of ‘bigotry’ and promises tougher policing](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/16/trump-seeking-to-court-black-voters-calls-clinton-a-bigot-and-promises-tougher-policing/) Trump says Clinton supports ‘war on police’ \[Washington Post\] [Early Voting Limits Donald Trump’s Time to Turn Campaign Around](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/politics/early-voting-limits-donald-trumps-time-to-turn-campaign-around.html?ref=politics) Weeks, not months \[New York Times\] **Sound Off** “The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African American community.” —Donald Trump in a “Law and Order” address in Wisconsin Tuesday. “So don’t be complacent, my friends, because even though we’re doing fine right now, I’m not taking anybody, anywhere, for granted.” —Hillary Clinton to supporters in Pennsylvania yesterday. **Bits and Bites** [Russia and Iran Fly Across a Key Threshold in the Middle East](http://time.com/4454681/russia-iran-fly-bombers-syria-middle-east/) \[TIME\] [Liz Cheney Wins Wyoming Republican Primary](http://time.com/4455531/liz-cheney-wyoming-republican-primary/) \[Associated Press\] [Huma Abedin On Her Job, Family, and the Campaign of a Lifetime](http://www.vogue.com/13464218/huma-abedin-family-job-hillary-clinton-campaign-strategist/) \[Vogue\] [Trump to Air First TV Ads of General Election Campaign](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/08/16/trump-to-air-first-tv-ads-of-general-election-campaign/) \[Wall Street Journal\] [Bill Clinton’s misleading claim about ‘marked classified’ information in Hillary Clinton’s emails](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/08/17/bill-clintons-misleading-claim-about-marked-classified-information-in-hillary-clintons-emails/) \[Washington Post\] [Roger Ailes Is Advising Donald Trump Ahead of Presidential Debates](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/politics/donald-trump-roger-ailes.html) \[New York Times\] [Mike Pence to Campaign With Marco Rubio in Florida](http://abcnews.go.com/US/mike-pence-campaign-marco-rubio-florida/story?id=41411274) \[ABC\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4455678/another-big-donald-trump-campaign-shakeup/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4455678/another-big-donald-trump-campaign-shakeup/"},"headline":"Another Big Donald Trump Campaign Shakeup","datePublished":"2016-08-17T14:09:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:01:50.782Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: August 17","url":"https://time.com/4455678/another-big-donald-trump-campaign-shakeup/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe72909db449ee63/6988a2a88e0601df904672c5/trump-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke 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