And then there’s this:
Paul Manafort Jr. is almost eerily perfect for the role of Donald Trump’s Republican convention master.
Manafort’s last major political consulting job was handling the 2010 campaign of Victor Yanukovych for president of Ukraine. Yanukovych won, but was ousted in a coup four years later after he had expanded his $75 million mansion, suppressed rival political parties and freedom of the press, and undermined Ukrainian independence by cozying up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin on trade, energy and security.
Now Manafort’s job is to make sure that Trump — who lives in a $300 million mansion, disdains the press and admires Putin — can translate his primary and caucus victories into the Republican nomination in Cleveland in July.
Trump realized that he needed a seasoned pro to identify, woo and keep track of trustworthy convention delegates. If he falls short of the majority needed to win in the primaries and caucuses, his foes will try to fill those delegate slots with disloyal “Trojan horses” or use rules and floor tactics to deny him in the nomination.
That’s where Manafort comes in.
“He’ll do more than just count delegates — he will get the data, get to know everyone, and run much of the operation from here on,” predicted Roger Stone, a longtime Trump associate and a former business partner of Manafort.
Starting with the College Republicans and Young Republicans in the 1970s, moving through many GOP conventions, the 66-year-old Manafort has amassed deep experience in the care, feeding and disciplining of delegates.
His main work over the years has been to run consulting firms that advised controversial clients ranging from the late Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines to leaders in Russia, Nigeria, Burma, Kenya, Angola and the Bahamas.
(Manafort could not be reached for comment; the Trump campaign did not answer a request for comment on their adviser’s foreign work.)
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