VAL 2016 | Roger Stones mentor var Richard Nixon. ”Attack, attack, attack. Never defend” är hans mantra. Och han har jobbat för Donald Trump.
Stone har inte längre någon officiell eller inofficiell roll i Donald Trumps valkampanj. Han valde att lämna (alternativt: avskedades) rollen som politisk rådgivare i augusti.
Han kallar fortfarande Trump en ”vän” och jobbar nu aktivt med att få honom vald till Republikanernas presidentkandidat vid partiets konvent.
Detta gör han bl.a. genom att organisera ”Stop the Steal”, en kampanjen som skall försöka påverka partiet och delegaterna att inte rösta på någon annan än Trump ifall han inte vinner nomineringen vid första röstomgången vid konventet.
Detta stämmer väl överens med hans uttalade strategi om hur man skall gå tillväga i en kampanj. ”Hit it from every angle. Open multiple fronts on your enemy. He must be confused, and feel besieged on every side.”
Dylan Byers på CNN skriver:
When it comes to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, things did not initially go Stone’s way. He had one vision for the campaign; Trump had another. But after leaving in August, Stone is back, in a manner of speaking. With the Republicans potentially facing a contested convention, his brand of political trench warfare is now in greater demand than ever.
Late last month, Trump appointed veteran GOP strategist and lobbyist Paul Manafort — Stone’s longtime friend and business partner, dating back to the Reagan years — to lead his fight for delegates. Sources close to all three men say Stone played a role in that appointment, which gave him a new lifeline into Trump’s campaign.
[…]
In a contested convention, his mastery of political dark arts could prove instrumental in securing the delegates that Trump needs. He has been to every Republican convention since 1964, and he’s worked the floor at every convention since 1972. And even he readily admits that he is capable of employing tactics other operatives wouldn’t dream of, let alone try.
[…]
At the outset, Stone advocated for traditional methods: polling, analytics, advertising. But Trump had something different in mind: hold rallies, generate controversy, get free media coverage. Stone didn’t care for that approach, nor the man tasked with implementing it: Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, who didn’t much care for Stone, either, sources close to the campaign said.
[…]
But he never really was gone. He was not ousted, as was originally reported, nor was he forced into exile, as some journalists would claim. He was always there, on the sidelines, talking to Trump on a regular basis, planting stories in the press, influencing things where he could, several sources said.
Now, eight months later, Trump’s ”say anything” strategy has given way to a new phase. He’s trying to assemble the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination, and he’s in desperate need of experienced political infighters who can navigate the contentious fight for delegates. Which means that Stone’s services are back in demand.
Bild: Affisch för kampanjen ”Stop the Steal”.