Why has former Trump campaign manager Brad Pascale been hospitalized?

Police were called to Brad Parscale's home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida by his wife informing them that he was barricaded in their house with multiple guns Sunday a little before 4p.m. as first reported in the South Florida Sentinel.  The Fort Lauderdale police SWAT team was sent to his residence where, after a brief discussion, they were able to convince him to surrender and go to hospital.  He was taken to Broward Health Medical Center under the provisions of the Baker Act which allows for the involuntary examination individuals in cases of mental illness or when an individual is a danger to themselves or others, although Parscale went willingly.

Brad Parscale: The digital guru

Parscale was President Donald Trump's campaign manager from February 2018 to July 2020 when he was abruptly replaced by the deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien.  This was a result of Trump's dissatisfaction with the disappointing turnout at a rally in Tulsa.  The rally was expected to have a massive showing with Parscale announcing that over a million requests for tickets had been made.  However, attendance at the rally was sparse with TikTok users and K-Pop fans claiming they had sabotaged the event by registering for hundreds of thousands of tickets.  This came on top of poor polling by Trump in the spring and into the summer, with the blame falling on Parscale.  He is still with the Trump campaign but in an advisory role and overseeing it digital strategy.

44-year-old Parscale joined the Trump circle in 2012 creating a website for Trump International Realty.  He is credited with developing an effective social media presence giving Trump his narrow electoral margin victory in the 2016 election. He became the re-election campaign manager in 2018, overseeing an expansion of its digital strategy.  Along with questions raised over his expenses, he has been blamed for the campaign's current financial woes, which has burned through $800 million leaving it with roughly $300 million and the fear that the campaign won't have enough money to make it to the finish line, with the Presidential Election on Tuesday 3 November.

Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for the Trump campaign, put out a statement saying "Brad Parscale is a member of our family and we all love him.  We are ready to support him and his family in any way possible."  In his statement he went on to blame Democrats and RINOs (Republicans in name only) for the distress that brought about Sunday afternoon's events from their "disgusting, personal attacks."

Where to get help

If you or a person you know is struggling with suicide call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 in English and 1-888-628-9454 in Spanish.  It provides free and confidencial support for people in distress or contemplating suicide, as well as how you can help someone in crisis.  You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Text Line counselor.  Both provide support 24 hours a day, seven day a week.