The Trump campaign is reorganizing its leadership after attendance for President Trump’s Tulsa rally fell short of high expectations.
Michael Glassner, who organizes Trump’s rallies, has been reassigned and replaced by Trump’s 2016 Arizona chairman Jeff DeWit, who will oversee much of the campaign until Election Day, according to Axios.
DeWit is an ally of White House senior adviser and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is said to be behind the internal switch up.
A source familiar with the situation said Glassner was put in an unfortunate position to handle the first rally Trump held since the coronavirus outbreak.
“Michael didn’t really make many mistakes [at the rally],” the source said. “He did what he always did, and it just didn’t work post-COVID … I think he knew he was going to take the punishment for this. It was on his watch.”
Glassner will now oversee the campaign’s various lawsuits.
Kushner had been in talks with DeWit for weeks about coming into the role. In 2016, Kushner brought in DeWit to help with the Trump campaign’s finances.
The lackluster attendance at Trump’s rally was met with concern by advisers, who feared it could be a telltale sign of the campaign’s future and Trump’s reelection chances in November. The coronavirus pandemic has brought caution to the public to attend large gatherings and has left the campaign scrambling to find out how to hold rallies safely and allow Trump to engage directly with supporters and voters without risking public health.
