Nearly 50 days before the 2024 presidential election, there are signs that Trump’s presidential campaign is faltering and even at war — with itself.
Multiple sources familiar with the campaign structure are now questioning whether the two people running the 2024 operation — campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita — should keep their jobs.
Apparently, there has been growing unrest about the direction of the campaign for some time.
But according to sources who spoke exclusively to Dailymail.com, Trump’s “disastrous” performance during Tuesday’s ABC News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris and the decision to have a notorious 9/11 conspiracy theorist accompany the former president to 9/11 memorial events was the final straw.
Trump was hot on his heels on Friday when he gave a press conference at his own Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles.
The decision to allow a notorious 9/11 conspiracy theorist (Laura Loomer, left) to accompany the former president to 9/11 memorial events was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Multiple sources familiar with the campaign structure have questioned whether the two people running the operation, co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, should keep their jobs.
The former president was asked why Laura Loomer, who once claimed 9/11 was an “inside job,” was with him on Wednesday.
“Laura is a supporter… she has very strong opinions… she’s a free spirit,” Trump told reporters.
“I can’t tell Laura what to do,” he said when asked why she flew in his campaign plane on Sept. 11. He was standing by as he addressed firefighters from the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where terrorists crashed a plane, killing 40 people on board.
“I don’t know what she said,” Trump said. “I’m going to look into it and I’ll make a statement.”
According to the Mail’s sources, this explanation does not absolve the Trump campaign of all blame.
Campaign co-manager Susie Wiles had “100 percent control over the preparations for the [ABC News] debate and the Trump plane manifesto,’ the Mail is told. ‘She has an iron grip on this campaign and has the final say on all decisions… They are going to eat this mountain of shit.’
When contacted by the Mail, the Trump campaign declined to comment on why Loomer was allowed to fly with the president, but a campaign source distanced himself from her.
“She’s not a campaign worker. She’s not part of the campaign. She was on this trip, but she’s absolutely not part of the campaign in an official capacity,” the campaign source told the Mail.
Meanwhile, outrage among leading Trump allies over Loomer’s relationship with Trump has now spilled over into public opinion.
A range of Republicans, from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene to Senator Lindsey Graham, have condemned Loomer. Taylor-Greene called her past comments “horrific and extremely racist.”
Sources tell the Mail that Loomer should never have been seen with the former president, especially on September 11.
“It was an insult that they allowed a 9/11 denier on that plane on 9/11,” the Mail source said.
This person with insider knowledge of the campaign’s operations blamed Wiles.
“Wiles decides who gets on Trump’s plane,” the Mail was told.
Last year, Trump reportedly asked his team to add Loomer to the campaign payroll and Wiles rebuffed her request. She kept “the crazy ones” out, a person involved in the 2024 campaign told NBC News in April 2023.
Trump was hot on his heels on Friday when he gave a press conference at his own Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles.
“Laura is a supporter… she has very strong opinions… she’s a free spirit,” Trump told reporters in Los Angeles.
But, the sources say, “nearly 50 days before the end of the campaign – Wiles was not going to shake things up by not allowing Laura Loomer in.”
Furthermore, the Mail’s sources allege that Wiles – who is a registered lobbyist with Mercury, a major independent public affairs agency – may have motives unrelated to winning the November election.
Mercury is a lobbying firm whose clients include Chinese technology company Alibaba and major U.S. oil companies. It is common for campaign managers to have experience in the public affairs industry.
‘Wiles just wants to hold on until the end [of the election]”Because she has the potential to secure lucrative contracts,” the sources say. “This is good for her business, whether Trump wins or loses.”
When the Trump campaign was asked for comment on these specific allegations, the Mail did not respond.
Additionally, Wiles and co-manager Chris LaCivita also ignored Trump’s instructions, according to sources.
“Trump asks them to do things, then he goes on the rally stage and nothing happens. Wiles and Chris LaCivitia just do what they want,” sources said.
Meanwhile, the unrest over the president’s performance during Tuesday’s debate has not gone away.
President Trump and his campaign officials have publicly insisted that his performance, which has been criticized by numerous observers and even prominent allies such as Senator Graham, was a strong one.
However, sources familiar with the debate preparations have a much gloomier picture of how voters will react to it.
And – again – they blame Wiles.
“Wiles controlled who was in the room to prepare Trump. It was the same old people,” sources said. “We were not involved. We had no idea what was going to happen.”
Two sources within the Trump campaign denied the allegation.
‘The Trump campaign is very confident that President Trump won the debate,’ the Mail was told. ‘The very same people who worked with President Trump on the first debate, [against President Joe Biden] were the same people at the second debate.’
‘Susie and Chris report to the top of the organization. This is a team effort. And to blame this on Susie or Chris is just nonsense.’
A DailyMail.com poll conducted immediately after the debate found that 49 percent of viewers believed Harris had won, while 45 percent thought Trump had won the night.
The first full poll released Wednesday after Tuesday’s showdown showed Harris ahead by five percentage points, surpassing the three-point lead she had previously held in the poll.
Campaign co-manager Susie Wiles had “100 percent control over the preparations for the [ABC News] “The debate and the Trump plane manifesto,” the Mail is told.
Trump campaign sources told the Mail that the president’s team remains on track to win in November, stressing that opponents have a destructive agenda.
“When someone attacks the most successful campaign operation ever mounted to support President Trump … it really raises the question of who they want to see win in the fall,” the source said. “We know when we smell someone trying to stir up trouble.”
On camera, President Trump has stood firmly behind his team, telling reporters in August, “Susie’s fantastic, as you know. And Chris is fantastic.”
But if Trump decides to shake up the top of his campaign at the end of the race, it wouldn’t be the first time.
In June 2016, Trump split with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. On July 15, 2020, Trump fired campaign manager Brad Parscale.
But seven weeks before Americans go to the polls, Trump has shown no willingness to make any changes.