Update: Well that did not take long... Just as he warned - "If they’re fighting, I get rid of one or the other or do something," Donald Trump is parting ways with his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, a move that comes as the presumptive Republican nominee faces challenges as it moves toward the general election.

“The Donald J. Trump Campaign for President, which has set a historic record in the Republican primary having received almost 14 million votes, has today announced that Corey Lewandowski will no longer be working with the campaign,” the campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said in a statement.

“The campaign is grateful to Corey for his hard work and dedication and we wish him the best in the future.”

As the Hill adds, the Trump campaign has been plagued by infighting between those close to Lewandowski, a Trump loyalist without major campaign experience, and the wing of campaign staffers loyal to Paul Manafort, a longtime Washington insider. The former campaign manager has also been a lightning rod of criticism — he was charged with battery after video emerged of him grabbing a former Breitbart News reporter, and had been spotted getting into altercations with protestors at campaign rallies. The charges against Lewandowski were dropped.

According to the NYT, Trump had faced increasing concerns from allies and donors, as well as his children, about the next phase of the campaign as he pivots toward a general election. The campaign manager was seen as having a hostile relationship with many members of the national press corps that covers Mr. Trump, and many officials at the Republican National Committee had strained relationships with him.



One person briefed on the moves, who asked not to be identified, said the campaign had long planned adjustments as it focused more on the needs of a general election campaign.

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As we detailed earlier, having pulled back to 'even' with Hillary Clinton a month ago, Donald Trump's recent media-reported faux pas have seen his popularity fade notably in recent polls. While the establishment's quiet continuing push to ouster Trump's nomination, Bloomberg reports the Republican presidential candidate is gathering his top lieutenants including members of his family, in New York on Monday to discuss a political strategy shift as he looks to move beyond recent missteps.

Trump is facing pressure from within his own inner circle -- including from donors -- who are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as a lack of coordination and communication, members of Trump's staff told Bloomberg Politics, at a crucial moment in the presidential race. There's also a growing impatience among some on Trump's payroll that the candidate has failed to fill key roles within his campaign, including traveling press secretary and communications director, while Democrat Hillary Clinton's synchronized political machine capitalized on a string of negative Trump headlines. The frustration among Trump's allies increased after his speech last week in Manchester, N.H., where he responded to the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub. Many in Trump's inner-circle had predicted that he would get a bump in the polls, as he did following the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. Instead, he faced a well-orchestrated rapid response machine from the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party, which hammered him for days.

Polls vary from Gravis +2pts to Bloomberg +12pts leads for Clinton in the last week but overall RealClearPolitics' average suggests some abatement in Trump's slide...

But members of Trump's team also told Bloomberg Politics there still appears to be a schism between campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

The campaign has built two distinct communications operations: one at its New York headquarters, and another in Cleveland for the convention. There have been instances of friction between each team. During a swing through California last month, for instance, the campaign never publicized Trump's meeting with female executives in the state, or the endorsements from lengthy list of veterans. At the time Trump was facing questions about his failure to donate to vets groups. While Manafort's allies blame the lapse on a power struggle, Lewandowski's backers said some veterans didn't want their names on the news release, and that final versions weren't offered until after the news cycle had passed. Some members of the Trump campaign say that a reshuffling of the campaign—a merger of the Lewandoski and Manafort teams that reassigned roles—will be coming soon. Still, one adviser described the campaign as overwhelmed. Another said the campaign has been unable to focus Trump on more specific events, such as visiting shuttered factories or failing schools.

Manafort and Lewandowski have played down their rivalry in discussions with Republican officials -- and to their boss. Trump doesn't carry a mobile phone or use e-mail, giving staff in close proximity - most often Lewandowski - greater influence.

“Corey and Paul get along great,” Trump said in a Bloomberg Politics interview earlier this month. “If they’re fighting, I get rid of one or the other or do something.”

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Still, with 5 months to go, we suspect this roller-coaster ride is far from over.