Trump names Stephen Bannon campaign chief exec: ‘I want to win’

Donald Trump is shaking things up.

Stephen K. Bannon, who was the regular host of SiriusXM Patriot‘s Breitbart News Daily*, has been named as Donald Trump’s campaign chief executive. Bannon is “temporarily stepping down from his role with Breitbart News to work full-time on Mr. Trump’s campaign,” according to the campaign’s press release. Kellyanne Conway, a veteran Republican pollster and current senior adviser to the campaign, has been promoted to campaign manager.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the story about the campaign changes, Trump explained the new hires in four simple words, “I want to win.”

“I have known Steve and Kellyanne both for many years. They are extremely capable, highly qualified people who love to win and know how to win,” Trump said in a statement.

“I believe we’re adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November and continue to share my message and vision to Make America Great Again.”

The campaign was quick to downplay recent polling as a reason for the changes, pointing to their “significant growth,” as well as their “first major TV ad buy of the general election slated to start later this week.” The statement also set to highlight that “additional top-flight operatives [are] joining the movement on a near-daily basis.”

Trump’s new hires signal a return to the strategy enacted during the primary, mainly before the removal of Corey Lewandowski. Manafort’s role was seen by many as a sign that the Republican presidential candidate planned to take a more moderate stance during the general election. While Manafort will still remain in his position as campaign chairman, the influx of close friends to the top of the organization structure hits home the notion that Trump plans to use next 83 days to run his kind of race – the one that helped him defy all odds to win the Republican nomination.

“That’s why I’m bringing on fantastic people who know how to win and love to win,” Trump said.

*Steve Bannon is taking a temporary leave of absence from Breitbart News. The Breitbart News Daily program and weekend editions on SiriusXM will continue uninterrupted – led by Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and other members of the Breitbart News team, many already familiar to our audience.

For a free 30-day trial, check out http://www.siriusxm.com/freetrial/blog