The former chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, who was later convicted in 2018 on charges related to his international consulting work, has backed out of a role in the 2024 election.
According to the Washington Examiner, former top Trump player Paul Manafort has reportedly changed his mind about his role as an unpaid adviser for the 2024 Republican National Convention in July.
The New York Times broke the news over the weekend.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Manafort was set to act as an unpaid adviser for the RNC's quadrennial presidential nominating convention.
Manafort released a statement through the 2024 Trump campaign explaining what he believed happened that led to his decision to back away from the RNC role this year.
He said he was offering unpaid advice to Trump and his campaign team on the upcoming convention, which will be held in Wisconsin.
"However, it is clear that the media wants to use me as a distraction to try and harm President Trump and his campaign by recycling old news," Manafort said, adding that he will "stick to the sidelines and support President Trump every other way I can."
Paul Manafort, a critical voice in former President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, has stepped aside from a volunteer role in the 2024 Republican presidential campaign. https://t.co/nwxhZqb6cw
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) May 12, 2024
The Examiner noted:
Manafort, 75, served as Trump’s 2016 campaign manager during the summer of that year but was replaced by Kellyanne Conway after reports that he had ties to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician who was stripped of his title during the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.
Manafort was ultimately pardoned by Trump after he was convicted on tax and bank fraud charges by a grand jury from an investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Manafort's decision to suddenly pull away from his upcoming RNC role was scrutinized by many social media users, with many suggesting that he would have become a target once again because of who he is and his past.
"Well he’s already been put in prison for something that he didn’t do. The U. S. Government has framed him once and they are probably threatening him again," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Can you blame the man? After what they did to him?"
Only time will tell if Manafort ends up playing any kind of role in the RNC or in Trump's campaign, but it looks doubtful at this point.
