Return of the MAGA warriors: Trump planning to bring back the ghosts of advisers past

Although Donald Trump now finds himself the presumptive Republican presidential nominee after storming through primary season – leaving his rivals trailing in his wake, pretty much from the Iowa caucus onwards – he will not officially become his party’s challenger to Joe Biden until his coronation takes place at its national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in mid-July.

With four criminal indictments and 88 felony charges hanging over him (three were recently discounted in Georgia) and his campaign burning through legal expenses, the 77-year-old still has a mighty long way to go as he traverses the road back to the White House and there are sure to be plenty more twists and turns to come.

As his campaign ramps up, the 45th president appears to be turning his attention towards revising his line-up of advisers in the hope of recapturing former glories.

According to The New York Times, his old 2016 campaign managers Corey Lewandowski and Paul Manafort are “in talks to return” while the near-legendary conservative “agent provocateur” Roger Stone “has increasingly appeared at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida”, according to The Times.

The Washington Post and Axios have also reported on the trio’s recent run of secret meetings.

The Times credits current Trump campaign operatives Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita with keeping hard-right activists like Laura Loomer out of the picture – perhaps mindful of the furore that erupted when Kanye West brought Nick Fuentes to dinner at Mr Trump’s Palm Beach home in November 2022 – but the candidate appears determined to surround himself with familiar faces he trusts.

For those in need of a refresher, Mr Lewandowski, 50, was one of Mr Trump’s first political hires in 2015 and was