Donald Trump’s top aide has denied reports of deep divisions within the campaign after a damaging series of missteps by the Republican nominee.
“The campaign is in very good shape. We are organised. We are moving forward,” Paul Manafort told ‘Fox News’.
US media outlets reported the campaign was in turmoil after Trump repeatedly attacked the parents of a fallen US solider.
Staffers told ‘CNN’ that they “feel like they are wasting their time”.
However, Manafort blamed those reports on Trump’s opponent Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“This is another Clinton narrative that she put out there and the media is picking up on,” he said. “Mr Trump has appeared this week at crowds that are overflowing into the street.”
Trump also tweeted on Wednesday: “There is great unity in my campaign, perhaps greater than ever before,”
The New York billionaire has been sharply criticised for his attacks on the bereaved parents of a US Muslim soldier killed in Iraq.
His ongoing war of words with Khizr and Ghazala Khan – the parents of Capt Humayun Khan – has intensified rifts within the Republican Party.
‘NBC News’ reported that senior Republicans plan to stage an “intervention” to get the campaign back on message, stressing issues such as jobs and trade deals.
The effort will be led, according to ‘NBC’, by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Trump allies former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“I think some of what Trump has done is very self-destructive,” Gingrich told ‘Fox Business Network’ on Wednesday.
Three prominent Republicans – including New York Congressman Richard Hanna – have said this week that they would vote for Mrs Clinton, saying Trump was unfit to serve as president, reports the BBC.
Many Republicans opposed to Trump have stopped short of supporting Mrs Clinton, saying they would vote for a third candidate instead.
