Donald Trump’s campaign convention manager Paul Manafort said Friday he is confident the Republican candidate will win 1,237 delegates “sometime in June,” and that a contested convention will not be necessary.
Manafort told CNN Friday that, “Trump has done an historic thing in this campaign with message and social media.” He added that Trump has “become the first modern presidential candidate.”
However, Manafort said, “he also understood that there comes a time when winning isn’t enough. It’s how you win and how much you win,” the campaign convention manager said. Manafort is a longtime political consultant who ran Gerald Ford’s delegate operations in the 1976 contested convention.
It has been reported in recent days that there is a rift between campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and newcomer Manafort. Manafort did nothing to help quell these rumors by telling CNN, “I work directly for the boss.”
Texas Sen. [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] is still confident, at least publicly, that he will be able to reach the 1,237 delegates necessary to win on the first ballot.
“Utah and New York are two different states. … The reality is Ted Cruz has seen his best day,” Manafort said.
The states left in April are highly favorable to Trump — New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
He said “absolutely” Trump will have 1,237 delegates before the July convention. “This convention process will be over with sometime in June, probably June 7,” Manafort told CNN.
June 7 is the date of the all-important California primary. (RELATED: If Trump Were To Win 1,237 Delegates This Is How He’d Do It)
“You think Trump gets to 1,237 … before the convention?” Cuomo asked Manafort.
“Absolutely,” he replied.
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