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Donald Trump splits with campaign manager

Corey Lewandowski, right, was let go on June 20 as Donald Trump's campaign manager.

Corey Lewandowski, right, was let go on June 20 as Donald Trump’s campaign manager.

(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)
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Donald Trump, whose rocky start to the general election has prompted dire concern among Republicans, separated from his campaign manager Monday.

Corey Lewandowski, 42, has been credited with orchestrating Trump’s unlikely rise during the primary season. But he has also been a controversial figure, notably facing a battery charge against a Breitbart News reporter, which prosecutors in Florida declined to pursue.

“Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best.”

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The campaign has been dogged by reports of infighting in recent weeks, and Trump has faced an onslaught of criticism for a lack of the fundraising and infrastructure typical of a modern presidential campaign. Trump has also hit record low approval ratings in recent polls.

Since securing the nomination, Trump has prompted a backlash with his public comments and style, even from fellow members of the GOP, who assailed him for asserting that an Indiana-born judge is a “Mexican” who could not rule fairly in a fraud lawsuit waged against Trump. Trump drew further criticism after the Orlando, Fla., massacre for re-upping his anti-Muslim rhetoric and repeating his call to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the country.

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