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Donald Trump fires his campaign manager Corey Lewandoski in June 2016, as GOP advisors prepare for the presidential election. This report in the NYT says family members felt Lewandoski lacked the experience needed for a presidential campaign, was slow to hire new staff, and was at odds with Trump's GOP advisor Paul Manafort. He was also seen as having poor rapport with the press and media covering the Trump campaign. The Trump campaign also lacked fund raising capabilities under Lewandoski, which is now being tackled with fund raising by Trump, and the better image necessary to attract donors.

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Kramer, McIntire, and Meier of the NYT, provides this indepth account of Trump top campaign aide Paul Manafort's consulting work in Ukraine for Ukraine's president Yakunovych, ousted after protests in Kiev. Ukraine's newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau is looking into corruption in Ukraine's system, including corruption in the Yakunovych years. It is this corruption that has hurt Ukraine and other Eastern European countries in their move towards becoming properly functioning democratic states inside the EU or neighboring the EU. Much aid has been sent to Ukraine by Germany and the EU to help Ukraine develop a democratic and economic framework free of cronyism and corruption. Manafort's involvement with interests in Ukraine and Russia during a period of long and persistent protests in Kiev, followed by the ouster of Yakunovych and the war with Russia, when the policy of the U.S. and Europe was to protect Eastern European  member states of the European Union including Poland and the Baltic States, and reach some form of settlement in Ukraine, are controversial. Andrew Kramer of the NYT describes Manafort's consulting company's activities in Ukraine during this tense period, and how it may have have been counterproductive to the constructive efforts of the U.S. and the European Union. ...

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Qatar's sovereign wealth fund supports PSG Paris and Qatar Airways supports Bayern Munich. Barcelona is one of the richest clubs along with PSG but says this report it has wasted a lot of money about $950 million getting players that it later deemed not needed, 30 players for that amount since 2014.This includes Coutinho who scored 2 of the 8 goals of Bayern in the 8-2 Bayern win over Barcelona. Bayern also played with Thiago Alcantara a player released by Barcelona. All the time Barcelona was looking at players to support Messi and making bad decisions. It released Neymar to PSG for $260 million even though it had second thoughts about the merits of that decision, just because of the money. For what you get for the money Bayern got key players for under $120 million to beat Lyon. Manchester city spent $600 million by contrast to put together its team. For Bayern its home grown talent comes from Thomas Muller and Alaba. Lewandowski and Goretzka were signed up. The best talent comes from youngsters Serge Gnabry of France and Alphonso Davies of Canada, for a combined $21 million. PSG also has broken the bank in signings but it has cooled down since and is calmer now. It signed Mbappe for $160 million, a critical piece of the plan for PSG. PSG coach Tuchel brought back Chuopo Moting for free and he was the hero for the win over Atalanta in the closing minutes. Simply an act of faith in his players by Tuchel from old times when Tuchel coached the youth leagues, which he loved doing.  Bayern chairman Rummenigge says "we'll try to save money." Making the best use of money starting with homegrown talent and young promising players is a winning game. At key points in the game with Barcelona, Davies and Coutinho showed the value of this approach. ...

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The Trump campaign still operates on the basis of the idea "Let Trump be Trump." It is only now beginning the effort to set up a campaign organization for the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, intending to do this with with lean structure at the top. On policy proposals Trump says he will rely on experts in each field. For a tax plan he has asked advisors to come up with a plan that simplifies and cuts taxes, aids the middle class, tackles abuses such as corporate "inversions" and to "tax the paper pushing hedge-fund guys." Jeb Bush has adopted a similiar position in the tax plan he has announced. Trump appeals to voters with anti-establishment rhetoric appealing to the average voter, mixed with a dose of individual bravado. The political organization has Corey Lewandowski as campaign manager, Michael Glassner as national political director, Daniel Scavino as head of social media, and Hope Hicks as press secretary. Lewandowski's only experience is heading the 2002 re-election effort for Republican Bob Smith to the U.S. Senate from New Hampshire, in which John Sununu was elected. The campaign lacks the experience and ground support for a long effort in the Republican primaries, and experts say it would face a vigorous television ad campaign from opponents as the primaries get closer....

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Koch describes Trump's statement about Muslims with the notion that 'We'll have them all register' as "monstrous" and "reminiscent of Nazi Germany," in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News weekly program. Trump is reported to have been open to a database tracking Muslims in the U.S. before backing off, according to WP, which is what Koch referrred to. About Cruz's statement about "carpet bombing" the ISIS group, Koch says he finds it "frightening." He calls both candidates "terrible role models" and agrees with George Stephanopoulos that Hillary could be a better presidential candidate than the two Republicans.

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Donald Trump's remarks at a Wilmington rally that caused a storm- "Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. But the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know." The second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to bear arms. Some newspapers saw it as threat, especially considering the heated rhetoric in Trump's other remarks in his campaigning. Speaker Paul Ryan called it a joke gone bad, and that the Second Amendment should not be talked about in this way.

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A NYT report on Donald Trump's long standing relationship with his lawyer Roy Cohn,  who was also an advisor to Senator Joseph McCarthy. The report says Roy Cohn used aggressive legal tactics in lawsuits and influenced Trump's style of doing business in his real estate dealings. It is a detailed report of Roy Cohn's influence on Trump, which the reporters say has influenced the way  Trump ran his 2016 election campaign. It shows Cohn as protecting Trump in lawsuits, and Cohn's sense that Trump would someday play a big role in New York's real estate business, as Cohn's first meeting with Trump started when Trump was beginning his career in the early 70's.