Story highlights Trump's campaign says Stone was fired because he was using the campaign to seek publicity for himself

But a source tells CNN that tensions between the two men spiked after Trump's debate performance

(CNN) Donald Trump's campaign said Saturday it has fired top political adviser Roger Stone -- who promptly denied being let go and insisted he had quit.

Stone's disassociation from the Trump operation highlights the campaign's seeming lack of veteran political advisers, even as the 2016 season is ramping up in earnest. And the dispute opens a window into two different factions of the campaign: one side that wants to maintain Trump's high visibility by capitalizing on his public feuds and bombastic rhetoric, and another that wants to pull the candidate toward more disciplined political strategy.

The episode caps a tumultuous few weeks for Trump's presidential campaign, which recently cut ties with two men accused of writing inflammatory Facebook posts. Trump, who is currently leading national polls, delivered an explosive performance at the first GOP debate in Cleveland on Thursday, and went on to make inflammatory comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly in an interview on CNN on Friday night.

"Mr. Trump fired Roger Stone last night. We have a tremendously successful campaign and Roger wanted to use the campaign for his own personal publicity. He has had a number of articles about him recently and Mr. Trump wants to keep the focus of the campaign on how to Make America Great Again," a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

Stone, however, told CNN that he "categorically denies" being fired, and provided what he said was his resignation letter.

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