Donald Trump overhauls campaign team

Republican Donald Trump has announced a shake-up of his campaign team leadership amid falling poll ratings 81 days before the presidential election.

The billionaire property mogul has named Stephen Bannon, of the conservative Breitbart News website, as chief executive and promoted pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager.

Paul Manafort, Mr Trump’s controversial campaign chairman, will retain his title but it is unclear if his role will change.

In selecting Mr Bannon for a top campaign role, Mr Trump is reinforcing his outsider appeal rather than appeasing more traditional Republicans.

The conservative Breitbart figure has been a cheerleader for Mr Trump’s campaign for months and was critical of Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Mr Bannon is a former Goldman Sachs banker and does not bring presidential campaign experience to Mr Trump’s White House bid.

Mr Trump has resisted pleas from fellow Republicans to overhaul the flame-throwing approach on the campaign trail that powered his surge to the top of the Republican field in the primary season.

We are going to make this a government of the people once again!#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #ImWithYouhttps://t.co/Fi7yEb2XQb

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2016

Instead of working to broaden his appeal, Mr Trump has largely stuck to the large rallies and attention-grabbing comments that appealed to the party base.

Ms Conway joined Mr Trump’s campaign earlier this year as a senior adviser.

A long-time Republican strategist and pollster, she has close ties to Mr Trump’s running mate, Indiana governor Mike Pence.

“I’ve known both of them for a long time. They’re terrific people, they’re winners, they’re champs, and we need to win it,” Mr Trump said.

Manafort deputy Rick Gates, who has often been travelling with Mr Trump, is expected to maintain a senior role with the campaign.

Mr Manafort, who took over the reins after the departure of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in June, has come under scrutiny because of his past work for a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party.

Mr Manafort helped the party secretly route at least $2.2m (€1.9m) in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012, doing so in a way that effectively obscured the party’s efforts to influence US policy, says the Associated Press.

Mr Gates, who had worked with Mr Manafort on Ukrainian issues, told the AP he and Mr Manafort had consulted with the lobbying firms on Ukrainian politics, but called the actions lawful.

The campaign shake-up, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as polls show Mr Trump trailing Hillary Clinton nationally and in key battleground states following a difficult campaign stretch that saw him insulting the Muslim parents of a soldier who died in Iraq and temporarily refraining from endorsing Mr Ryan in his primary race.