Top Trump aide's mission: Mending fences with RNC
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. --As Republican National Committee members continue their meeting in Florida, they have with new assurances that Donald Trump is ready for a general election fight. Top Trump aidePaul Manafort told party leaders Trump is ready to become a more traditional candidate, one who can appeal to a broader swath of the American electorate.
The comments came as officials announced they would not be changing any party rules before the convention in July.
Manafort's main mission in Florida was to mend fences with activists loyal to the party's nominating rules, reports CBS News correspondent Major Garrett.
"Is there something you're going to try to communicate tonight to soften that sense of either skepticism, or in a couple of cases, hostility?" Garrett asked.
"We're talking to them, explaining to them what Donald Trump's position is. ... What he is talking about is creating transparency between elections and how delegates are selected," Manafort responded.
Trump did not come to the meeting to butter up RNC delegates -- Ted Cruz and John Kasich did.
Delegates were divided on Trump's absence. Some called it a blunder and missed opportunity, others said Trump's job is to win votes and primaries.
What nobody disputed: Trump is topic one among party regulars wondering what the next two months will bring.
"Honestly, Cruz and Kasich have no path to victory. It's over, it's over," Trump asserted in Pennsylvania Thursday.
Despite calls for him to begin adopting a softer tone, Trump remained disdainful of both Cruz and Kasich.
Manafort, Trump's convention manager, told RNC members that up until now, Trump has been "projecting an image" but that "the part that he's been playing is now evolving," and soon they'll "see a real different guy."
Cruz quickly seized on the comments.
"He's telling us, he's lying to us. You look at what his campaign manager says is that this is just an act, this is just a show," Cruz said.
But in Pennsylvania, Trump said he isn't ready to change just yet.
"We have to be tough for a little while, and I'll be, at some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored," he said.
Members of the RNC rules committee took no action on proposed changes to party rules during their meeting, cautious not to inflame an already tense situation.
"We have very unpredictable candidates in the race and nobody knows what's going to happen," rules panel member Randy Evans said.