About
Michael Glassner is a longtime Republican advisor to conservative and far-right candidates. In 1988 and 1996, he advised Senator Bob Dole on his presidential campaigns, and in 2000 and 2004, he did the same for George W. Bush.
In 2008 Glassner managed Sarah Palin’s vice presidential campaign and went on to serve as chief of staff for her PAC. He joined Trump’s 2016 campaign in July 2015, and was credited with having “cemented” a “Trump-Palin union.” As soon as he assumed office in January 2017, Trump appointed Glassner to run his 2020 campaign but just four months before the election, he was quickly reassigned after Trump got furious about and blamed him for the tepid turnout at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Big Lie
- Glassner was the chief operating officer of Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign until June 2020, when he was shifted to a new role “managing its legal fights against news organizations,” according to NBC.
- During the campaign, Glassner raised Trump’s bogus claims of bias in the moderation of the presidential debates. He met with Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, to advocate for hiring friendlier moderators for the series of televised debates that were to follow.
- Following a lifelong pattern, Trump went on to mimic this tactic of baselessly claiming unfair treatment as he cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election and claimed that Biden had “stolen” his victory.
- By February 2022, Trump’s Save America PAC had reportedly raised over $120 million, which, as Politico reported, “reaffirms his grip on the Republican Party—and could well scare away potential challengers for the next GOP presidential nomination.” A handful of consultants drew funds from that PAC, including Michael Glassner, whose firm was paid $128,970.