Paul Manafort quit Donald Trump's campaign on Friday because reports about lobbying ties to Ukraine were taking away from the nominee's effort to win in November, former senior consultant Sam Nunberg told Newsmax TV.
"Paul was becoming a distraction and he knew he was becoming a distraction," Nunberg told "The Steve Malzberg Show" in an interview. "It was very commendable of him to retire.
"This was a pure volunteer job," he added. "Where he took that campaign to where it is today, he deserves a lot of credit."
Watch Newsmax TV on DirecTV Ch. 366 and Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman, was effectively replaced on Tuesday by Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon, who was named chief executive.
Pollster Kellyanne Conway was promoted to campaign manager.
"I think that they're going to be in good shape with Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway going forward," Nunberg said.
He later told "The Hard Line" host Ed Berliner that Trump could still win the November election, which is about 80 days away.
"There is some time to turn this around," Nunberg said.
"By the time of the debates, and should Donald decide to prepare for those debates, he will have a chance to have the American people look at him in a different light.
"But if the skepticism is well-founded — then, frankly, we shall see."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.