BATON ROUGE -- The same day his chief strategist resigned from the Republican presidential nominee's campaign, Donald Trump visited flood-damaged Louisiana to express solidarity with residents cleaning up after devastating flooding that left at least 13 people dead.

President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton both have yet to go, although Obama announced late Friday that he would visit next week.

The New York businessman on Friday offered notably restrained remarks as he surveyed the waterlogged wreckage.

"Nobody understands how bad it is," Trump told reporters, after briefly helping unload a truck of supplies. "It's really incredible, so I'm just here to help."

Earlier Friday, Trump announced that he had accepted the resignation of campaign Chairman Paul Manafort.

"I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process," Trump said in a statement. "Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success."

But the businessman's son, Eric Trump, made clear Manafort's reported lobbying operation was behind the resignation. His father didn't want to be "distracted by whatever things Paul was dealing with," the younger Trump told Fox News.

"My father just didn't want to have the distraction looming over the campaign and quite frankly looming over all the issues that Hillary's facing right now," he said.

Manafort's departure followed a string of revelations about his work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. The news included a report Thursday describing a covert Washington lobbying operation run by Manafort's firm. Trump was informed about the latest reporting in North Carolina on Thursday night, before telephoning his new campaign leadership and suggesting it was time for Manafort to go, according to a Republican briefed on the exchange.

"The easiest way for Trump to sidestep the whole Ukraine story is for Manafort not to be there," said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who has become a counselor to Trump.

Roger Stone, a former business partner of Manafort, denied that the chairman had quit because of infighting after Trump hired a new campaign leadership team. Earlier this week, he tapped Stephen Bannon, a media executive, as his new campaign chief and Kellyanne Conway, a Republican strategist and pollster, as his new campaign manager.

"He resigned because he thought the unfair and unfounded attacks on him would become a distraction and he doesn't want to do anything that hurts the election of Trump," Stone said. "The idea there was any discord with Bannon or Kelly is just not true. They had everything kind of worked on what they'd do."

Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents, as required under federal law.

Campaign spokesman Jason Miller said Gates would remain part of the campaign with a new role in Washington as liaison to the Republican National Committee.

Clinton's campaign called the resignation an admission of the Trump campaign's "disturbing" connections with allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia and Ukraine.

"You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn't end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin," campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement.

Manafort, a veteran strategist who had managed Republican nominating conventions in the past, was hired by the campaign in late March, as Trump was facing a protracted delegate fight in his effort to capture the Republican nomination.

Manafort took over the campaign two months ago when campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was fired.

"I think campaigns have different phases," said Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, one of the first House Republicans to back Trump. "Certainly, Manafort did his job in getting the delegation together and bringing it home at the convention."

Now, DesJarlais said, Trump's campaign is entering a phase where the focus should be on raising money, advertising and Clinton.

"He's in a good position considering we really haven't gone after Hillary," DesJarlais said.

Clinton: Aid Victims

The Clinton camp also found itself on the defensive for the first time in weeks.

Trump's visit to southern Louisiana put pressure on Clinton. Even as she kicked off a fundraising blitz, Clinton emailed supporters asking them to contribute to the relief effort and noted that she had spoken with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat whose spokesman blasted Trump's visit as "a photo op."

"The flooding there is bigger than anyone expected -- more than 40,000 homes have been damaged and more than 100,000 people have been affected," Clinton said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Clinton added that "the relief effort can't afford any distractions. The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need."

Trump's trip was a striking detour for a candidate who has largely stuck to boisterous rallies and phone-in interviews to appeal to voters.

The businessman and his running mate, Mike Pence, drove past piles of ripped-up carpet, furniture and personal belongings discarded on curbs. Trump consoled residents -- even hugging two -- as several Louisianians noted they have felt left out of the national spotlight.

"Edwards wasn't informed of the Trump campaign's visit to the state or the schedule," the governor's office said in a statement. "We welcome them to Louisiana, but not for a photo-op. Instead we hope they'll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm."

In East Baton Rouge Parish, residents emerged from their homes to wave at Trump's motorcade, some with gloved hands dirty from their house-gutting work. At a Baptist church later, a woman yelled "Thank you for coming, Mr. Trump" as he and Pence sat down with volunteers.

When a woman thanked him for coming, rather than playing golf like the president has been doing during his New England vacation, Trump replied: "Somebody is, somebody is that shouldn't be."

With pressure mounting, the White House said after Trump's appearance that Obama would visit Louisiana on Tuesday to survey the damage. Aides have noted Obama is receiving regular updates on the conditions.

Trump's TV Ad

As part of his campaign reset, Trump's operation on Friday released its first general election TV commercial, one of two set to run in battleground states over the next 10 days.

The spot touts Trump's plan to crack down on illegal immigration and halt some refugee programs. But it also keeps up his suggestions that a Clinton victory would be the result of an election system "rigged against Americans."

Later Friday, Trump fired up a rally in Dimondale, Mich., with similarly blistering criticism and bluster. Although the suburb just outside Lansing is overwhelmingly white, Trump made an appeal to black voters. He urged them to abandoned Democrats, whom he said only take advantage of black voters.

"You live in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed -- what the hell do you have to lose?" he said, adding a prediction: "At the end of four years, I will get over 95 percent of the African-American vote."

On Twitter, the Clinton campaign responded, "This is so ignorant it's staggering."

Most polls show Trump trailing Clinton significantly among black voters. Obama won roughly 93 percent of black voters in his re-election campaign in 2012.

The tone was a shift from the night earlier, when Trump expressed regret for some of his comments -- although he did not say which comments.

"Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that," the GOP nominee said, reading from prepared text. "And believe it or not, I regret it -- and I do regret it -- particularly where it may have caused personal pain."

Information for this article was contributed by Melinda Deslatte, Jill Colvin, Kathleen Hennessey, Steve Peoples, Julie Bykowicz and Lisa Lerer of The Associated Press; by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin of The New York Times; by Elizabeth Titus, Kevin Cirilli, Jennifer Jacobs, Sahil Kapur and Billy House of Bloomberg News; and by Abby Phillip of The Washington Post.

A Section on 08/20/2016