Project for the New American Century

 

This Ex-Partner of Paul Manafort and Roger Stone Is Thrilled To Be Away From the Action

His old pals are deeply enmeshed in Trump controversy. Charlie Black is playing golf.

WRITTEN BY ELAINA PLOTT 

 

 | PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 8, 2018

Photograph by Jeff Elkins  

In the Reagan era, the lobbying firm Black, Manafort and Stone became a powerhouse by innovating smash-mouth techniques that shook up K Street. Two of the firm’s principals have lately been back in the news: Roger Stone, the pro-Trump media provocateur who back-channeled with Julian Assange throughout the 2016 campaign, and Paul Manafort, indicted in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

One recent Friday, we decided to catch up with the third partner, Charlie Black. His plans were less newsworthy than those of his erstwhile colleagues: a massage, church with his wife, maybe some time with the grandkids. “They’re our biggest hobby,” said Black, speaking in a refined North Carolina drawl that only added to his relaxed affect.

Black, Manafort, and Stone parted professionally in the mid-1990s. Yet in 2016, Manafort and Stone found themselves together again, both entwined with Trump. Meanwhile, Black joined the opposition, signing on to advise presidential candidate John Kasich. When it came to the issues Black cares most about, such as reforming Medicare and Social Security, he says, “Trump didn’t have a clue.”

Despite their different political trajectories, Black talks to Manafort sometimes. “He’s okay,” Black says. “He does not believe he’s done anything wrong. But I haven’t been paying attention to his business dealings for the last 20 years, so I don’t know.”

As for Stone, Black seems less sympathetic: “Roger has to insert himself into every story. When all this stuff first broke, a few reporters called and said, ‘Do you think Roger was the connection between the Trump campaign and Russia?’ I said, ‘With all due respect, Roger couldn’t find Russia on a map.’ ” Though Black describes Stone as a “publicity hound” who is often “doing weird things,” he still has affection for his former colleague. “But I don’t hang out with him.”

With one exception: The three did reunite last January, when they met at their old DC haunt the Palm the night before Trump’s inauguration. According to Black, it was their first get-together in 20 years. “It was Roger’s idea,” he says. “We had a good time.”

Nearly a year later, Black isn’t terribly surprised by how the trio’s lives have diverged. For perhaps the first time, the longtime insider is relieved not to be part of the circus. So while Manafort awaits trial and Stone has gotten himself banned from Twitter, Black is heading to his second home in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he plans to play golf and spend time with John and Cindy McCain. After all, winter is coming.

This article appears in the January 2018 issue of Washingtonian.

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Charlie Black

Charlie Black
Basic facts
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Affiliation:	Republican
Education:	•University of Florida •American University Law School
Website:	Official website
[show]Prior Experience

Charlie Black is a longtime Republican campaign consultant. Most recently, he was hired as a delegate strategist for John Kasich's 2016 presidential campaign.[1] Black has previously advised former Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) and George H.W. Bush (R) and worked on the presidential campaigns of Bush, George W. Bush (R), and John McCain (R). Black is also the chairman of Prime Policy Group, a lobbying a political strategy firm.[2]

Career

Early career

Charlie Black began his career in politics as an advisor to the 1972 U.S. Senate campaign of Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). He credited Barry Goldwater's book Conscience of a Conservative—which Black read before attending the University of Florida in 1965—with his interest in conservative politics. According to the Arizona Republic, "Helms faced a Democrat who had prevailed in a bitter primary that divided the party. Black helped design a strategy that labeled the Democrat as too liberal for North Carolina, driving the point home with a slogan that declared Helms to be 'One of Us.'"[3]

Consulting

As a political consultant, Black was a founding partner of the firm Black, Manafort, and Stone (commonly shortened to Black, Manafort), a group that The Washington Post described as having "developed a reputation as one of Washington's most aggressive and controversial. It combined lobbying with campaign consulting and was often in the position of seeking votes from members of Congress for whose campaigns the firm had worked."[4] In a 1985 profile of the lobbying group—when H. Lee Atwater joined the firm—The Washington Post also noted the group's influence on Washington politics:[5]

“

In just five years, Black, Manafort and Stone -- and now Atwater -- has become a major new presence in the capital, specializing in connections, influence and hardball politics. It combines a political client list of influential elected officials with a lobbying clientele of corporations, foreign governments and trade associations.[6]

”

In 1989, The New York Times described Black, Manafort as "a power broker that thrives on a hardball approach."[7] The group was sold in 1991.[4]

Individually, Black is known for his connections in the Republican Party as well as his strategy, according to the Arizona Republic: "Black has developed a reputation as a master strategist and unflappable spinmeister who combines methodical toughness and an instinct for exposing an opponent's flaws."[3]

Presidential campaign experience

Black has worked on a presidential campaign in every cycle since 1976, when he was an advisor for Ronald Reagan's campaign. During that campaign, Black was involved in the contested convention between Reagan and Gerald Ford. Black said that he and the inner circle of Reagan advisors—led by campaign manager John Sears—attempted to gain delegates by pushing for a rules change.[8] Black has worked on the following presidential campaigns:[9]

• Ronald Reagan 1976, Midwest coordinator
• Ronald Reagan 1980, National political director
• Ronald Reagan 1984, Advisor
• Jack Kemp 1988, Advisor
• George H.W. Bush 1992, Senior consultant
• Phil Gramm 1996, Strategist
• George W. Bush 2000, Advisor
• George W. Bush 2004, Advisor
• John McCain 2008, Strategist
• Mitt Romney 2012, Advisor

Presidential campaign, 2016

Early comments

Before committing to a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Charlie Black commented on the race and the possible nominees. In July 2015, he spoke to Bloomberg about Donald Trump's appeal to voters, saying, "Donald Trump, in addition to being a friend, he's a brilliant businessman, he's a great celebrity, knows how to milk that for everything, and he's a good entertainer. ... So naturally, he's getting a lot of attention from the press and from a lot angry voters."[10]

Black further commented on the nature of Republican primary elections in an interview with The Weekly Standard in October 2015. Black said, "The natural flow of the race narrows the field to two candidates after the first few primaries." The site went on to summarize Black's position on the campaigns: "This pits a mainstream Republican against an outsider, and the mainstream candidate always wins the nomination. ... Once the narrowing occurs this cycle, Black suspects the mainstream candidate will be Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, or John Kasich. The outsider will come from the group of nonpoliticians—Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina. If it’s Trump, he’ll lose, Black says, because he can’t get to 50 percent. His negatives are simply too high."[9]

John Kasich presidential campaign, 2016

See also: John Kasich presidential campaign, 2016

On March 16, 2016, Charlie Black joined John Kasich's presidential campaign as an advisor on delegate strategy. According to The Daily Caller, Black and advisor Stuart Spencer were hired to work on gaining unpledged delegates for the Republican National Convention and those pledged to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) before Rubio dropped out of the race.[1]

In March 2016, Black told Bloomberg News, "When you get to the convention, most people care about electability. Kasich is the most electable." He also told Bloomberg of the effect he thought a Donald Trump nomination would have on the election as a whole:[11]

“

Unless something happens to improve [Trump's] numbers—since he's been in the race he's always been 10 to 13 points behind Hillary Clinton. If he's the nominee and he loses by 10 points, that means in blue states where we're trying to defend Senate seats, we probably lose. It means we lose some House seats. It means down ballot, where the Republican Party dominates, the state legs and the governorships, we could lose there. What happens is, a bunch of Republicans stay home if they don't believe in the nominee.[6]

”

In an interview with The Hill, Black described the Kasich campaign's approach to the convention, saying, "We're going to have a contested convention. ... There will be people, if they are not strongly committed to one candidate or another, we have to figure out what will attract. Some people will be asking for favors—for a ride on Trump's jet or a judgeship for a friend. Most of these folks are more serious than that, and what they're going to want to know is who will be the best president." He also indicated that procedures at the convention could have importance in the nominating process: "Our biggest fight in '76 was on a procedural issue. on a procedural issue, nobody is bound to anyone by their state law to vote a certain way. So that could be what develops this time. ... What I've learned is that you really get to know these people, try to figure out what it is that motivates them, who do they know who has influence with them. Because you're going to barrage them from different sides with different advocates. They expect that. They don't mind it."[12]

Black's other partners in his original consulting firm, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, also signed on with 2016 candidates. Manafort was hired in March 2016 as Donald Trump's convention manager.[13] Stone advised Trump's campaign until he resigned in August 2015.[14] Stone remained an informal advisor and friend after his resignation.[15]

On May 4, 2016, after Donald Trump won the Indiana primary, Kasich suspended his presidential campaign.[16]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Charlie Black' Kasich. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Charlie Black - Google News

See also

• Paul Manafort
• Roger Stone
• John Kasich presidential campaign, 2016

External links

• Prime Policy Group
• Charlie Black on LinkedIn

Footnotes

1. ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 The Daily Caller, "Kasich Hires New Talent Aimed At Contested Convention," March 16, 2016
2. ↑ Prime Policy Group, "Charlie Black, Chairman," accessed April 5, 2016
3. ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 Arizona Republic, "McCain tapping experience of GOP sage," April 26, 2008
4. ↑ Jump up to:4.0 4.1 The Washington Post, "PR Firm Acquires Black, Manafort," January 3, 1991
5. ↑ The Washington Post, "Partners in Political PR Firm Typify Republican New Breed," April 7, 1985
6. ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
7. ↑ The New York Times, "A Political Power Broker," June 21, 1989
8. ↑ Politico, "‘It Was Riotous’: An Oral History of the GOP’s Last Open Convention," April 5, 2016
9. ↑ Jump up to:9.0 9.1 The Weekly Standard, "The View from the Sidelines," October 26, 2015
10. ↑ Bloomberg, "Charlie Black: ‘Brilliant’ Trump Unlikely to Finish Better Than 3rd or 4th in Early Primary States," July 27, 2015
11. ↑ Town Hall, "The Plan For John Kasich to Win the GOP Nomination," March 18, 2016
12. ↑ The Hill, "Kasich to draw on 1976 lessons for contested convention," March 29, 2016
13. ↑ New York Times, "Donald Trump Hires Paul Manafort to Lead Delegate Effort," March 28, 2016
14. ↑ Washington Post, "Donald Trump struggles to turn political fling into a durable campaign", August 9, 2015
15. ↑ Talking Points Memo, "The TPM Interview: Roger Stone May Be Off The Campaign, But He Still Has Trump's Ear," November 2, 2015
16. ↑ Politico, "Kasich dropping out of presidential race," May 4, 2016

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