his name is rick wiley. you will recognize his resume. he most recently was the campaign manager for the failed and indeeply debted presidential run of wisconsin governor scott walker. until that, rick wiley was the director for the failed and very deeply invetted presidential run of rudolph gulliani. before that, he ran the george w. bush re-election efforts in the state of wisconsin in 2004. you might remember george w. bush lost the state of wisconsin in his re-election effort in 2004. lose wisconsin, lose rudy gulianni and scott walker spectacularly and set huge amounts of money on fire in those failed races. in this business that kind of track record gets you promoted. there is no way to fail up as well as being in national political campaigns. boy do they fail up. when scott walkers campaign blew up so fast and expensively this past year, it actually felt for a second his campaign manager might be immune from this feature of the political operative world where people who do badly the last time around get bigger jobs the next time ar

rick wiley is going to be focused on national operation, field nom united nations. hae dins this for the national committee. that's a place where trump has been week across the country, trying to get organizations at conventions where they pick delegations. guys like him and paul manafort, he's working on delegates. >> obviously donald trump, you know, he runs this thing. this is him and everybody else in the inner circle kl or wider circle are ultimately deferring to his judgment on the stage and interviews. it comes from his lips, not theirs right now. i'm curious in terms of the back-and-forth with the rnc. reince priebus saying he had to speak out when the facts were being misrepresented. donald trump pushing back saying the rules are being changed, in effect saying that the rnc is trying to steal the nomination for him. so what is the strategy for donald trump? obviously it's a campaign that has been heavily fueled by grievances and some of the other people he's been speaking for? what is the strategy as they continue to trump up their language toward the rnc.

it's actually a remarkable change with newly hired political veterans, rick wiley and paul manafort onboard. this almost feels like a different campaign. are they actually righting the ship? they appear to be, they're taking more control of the candidate. they've limited his exposure. they're keeping his speeches shorter. they're getting him to stay on the same message for more than one day at a time and they've got him on a script. and now that script includes attacking what they have decided to call a rigged delegate system. at this hour, there are actually pro-trump protesters gathering at colorado state capital, at the building itself. they say the delegate selection process doesn't represent them. so let's look back at the last ten days and what led to what appears to be, at least for now, a changed trump. it seems that in wisconsin, the stop-trump effort finally found their footing. they poured $2 million into a state where donald trump already faced unpopularity with that state's conservatives. ted cruz won by a 13-point margin. he netted 30 delegates over trump out of it. trump's ca

the things i hear about rick wiley being hired, he is not doing well. how dare he?ow disappointing, he is doing this for all the wrong reasons, even for people who like him. at the republican national committee by his own choice, they think it will be fine if he wins the nomination. but there is still obviously a strong anti-, never trump movement. it now seems laughable when using stories that say we hate ted cruz so much, maybe trump is better. trump has a long way to go to unify his party. john: there is a difference between -- people have written many stories, that bringing paul and rick wiley, that trump is trying to professionalize his campaign. it could be a sign of maturity on his part. on the other hand, it has nothing to do with the broader question of getting mainstream republicans, or the establishment, another inside game, of campaign consultants, has nothing to do with them. mark: since chris christie, there has not been an endorsement like that. ted cruz has gotten virtually no endorsements in wisconsin. john: the question is not will or could. he cou

rick wiley, thanks for being with us. nice to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> i know the trump campaign position can is that you're going to get enough delegates on the first ballot that all of these states is not going to matter. that's a game that ted cruz can play but you guys are going to win. how much do you need to do tonight to make that pledge a reality? >> we're going to have a great night tonight. i think some of the exit polling showed one of the misno, ma'ame donald trump is not a great general election candidate. i disagree. 70% said they would support donald trump as the nominee. we're neck and neck with independent voters across the country or three points behind hillary clinton. tonight we're going to have a good night. i can't give you a prediction of the number of delegates. this race take a turn tonight. ted cruz is going to be mathematically eliminated. we're going to turn our focus to the next contest. i feel good about where we are. the other thing someone mentioned about before i came on about

are paul manafort and rick wiley, the gentlemen, are they restraining him? >> reporter: that's no easy task. remember, jake, it was lewandowski, as you know, who used to say, let trump be trump. but lately, right, trump has been more cautious in his comments but attacks on the rnc and the party estimate for awarding delegates have raised eyebrows. maybe not a total lid has been placed on what trump is saying these days. one trump source tells me, from what he's hearing from party regulars, they don't mind that donald trump is running an anti-establishment campaign. they just want to see donald trump running a more professional campaign and that will go a long way in attracting nervous, uncommitted delegates they need down the stretch. >> jim acosta, thanks so much. joining me, megapanel for the hour, carl bernstein, cnn political commentator and author of "a woman in charge, the life of hillary rodham clinton." ryan lizza, correspondent for the new yorker, maggie lab laborerman, senior analyst, david gergen, was an adviser to reagan, ford, clinton. a trump s

i know that you and rick wiley talked to the rnc members. do you feel you were successful in conveying the messages that you wanted? >> well, donald trump thought it was important because he could not attend this week due to the fact that he's out there campaigning in the primaries that the campaign hav a presence here to answer any questions the rnc members have and to also let them know that as far as donald trump is concerned, you know, as he becomes the presumptive nominee of the party he's looking to work with the rnc and work with the other leaders of the state parties to begin to put together the framework for what will be a united republican effort in the fall. >> and, paul, the -- working with the rnc, so much public what would we say acrimony between the rnc, the man that will be leading the convention, paul ryan, and donald trump of course being extremely critical of the primary -- primary system, at least many of the primaries in this country. is that being smoothed over? is that process under way? is there a coming together, if

rick wiley is his name. a one-time political director with the republican national committee, the very group trump is attacking. team trump had a closed door meeting. trump didn't go but he sent staffers to cozy up with g.o.p. lawmakers with thesser. now peter doocy has more on the meeting. let's begin with john roberts. i think it looks like this. a pretty good trick. welcome to new york. >> thank you. good place to be and an important place to be as you were mentioning, for the first time i can remember. >> like ever. >> new york actually means something, and the three candidates from the republican side will be on stage for the first time in the same place, not necessarily together, since back in march 10th in that last debate that they had back in miami. donald trump hoping to change the narrative after a few bad weeks. big setbacks for him in wisconsin, as well as colorado. but if he can win new york and win big, like getting the majority, if not all of the 95 delegates, he thinks he can change the whol

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force and it's all of the new people that have more or less taken over the top tier ofmanafort, rick wiley national political director already walking through the hotel this morning for one-on-one meetings. the reason why this is meeting is so important, 168 rnc members, all 168 are delegates. there's a great opportunity to sit down with the people who will be voting on the convention floor. a lot of these members will also be playing a role in the rules of the convention. how the rules end up and whether or not they favor one candidate or another, that is why the trump team is down here in full force and they're following john kasich who is down here in person and ted cruz who also made a personal appearance yesterday. so all three campaigns recognizing the importance of this meeting and really doing a full-court press. >> we'll see what come from that full-court press. phil mattingly there for us. thanks so much. >>> let's get more insight into donald trump's campaign at this moment. his senior adviser sara hucakbee sanders is joining us live. thank you so much for joining us. >> good mo

paul manafort hired three weeks ago, has brought on new people and we have rick wiley coming in and theuple of days we had the resignation of stuart jolly, one of the top campaign officials. we have a lot of shake-up. it's clear donald trump really thinks and is confident they can get to that 1237 and wants different team members in order to do it. chris. >> jacob, am i right trump said it was great honor to vote for himself? >> reporter: the question was, how does it feel to vote for yourself in new york? he said it was great honor to be here. it could be he misheard the question, what is it like to vote in new york. it's just that is what happened. >> got you. thank you, nbc's jacob rascon. joining me on the cruz campaign, holly joins me here. they are not here in new york. >> no, in philadelphia. >> they had a rough go here, i think it's fair to say. >> sure. he's behind even john kasich now a guy the campaign did not believe months ago would still be in the race. a stump speech saying this is the race between me and donald trump, the only ones viable to beat hillary clinton. the fac

>> reporter: the new hire, jake, is rick wiley. he was the former campaign manager of governor scott walker's campaign so now he's coming aboard the trump campaign and this comes at a time when donald trump is railing against the establishment, his disagreements with the rnc chief now boiling over. >> you're saying that you don't think the rnc wants you to get the nomination? >> no, i don't think so. >> reporter: tonight the gop front-runner and the head of the republican party is erupting into an all-out war. >> because of all the shenanigans that goes on. >> but those are the rules. didn't you know those rules? >> i know the rules very well but i know that it's stacked against me by the establishment. i fully understand it. >> reporter: donald trump taking his criticism of the gop nominating system's rules to new heights, now accusing the republican party of conspiring against him to prevent him from winning the nomination. >> they changed the rules a number of months ago. the people in -- >> about eight months ago. >> well, not

and also rick wiley.cott walker, the wisconsin governor who was in this race this presidential race last year, dropped out early, wiley was running that campaign. a well regarded political professional. what you are seeing here potentially in terms of the trump campaign is a response to some of the criticism, some of the criticism from republican establishment types, even some supporters that the organization may not have been up to snuff. some real professionals and brand names going in there. peter alexander is at a polling station in new york city. he's been following the trump campaign. what do we know about this reshuffle that's taking place? >> obviously what we witnessed is this small core of donald trump loyalists now expanding into a growing team of seasoned political professionals. paul manafort, rick wiley, formerly the campaign manager for scott walk enow manafort's deputy. part of this upheaval has created a political parallel political campaign. the manafort team and lewandowski team as it's

rick wiley is now in leading trump's ground operations. r wisconsin governor scott walker. senior press representative told me the changes are about adding talent. >> we're bringing on the top talent in order for us to get to 1,237 and not worry about a contested convention. we bring on the top-notch tall toent do that. >> who's in charge? >> corey lewandowski remains the campaign manager, absolutely. >> okay. with me now, cnn chief political correspondent dana bash, analyst, gloria allred and van jones. happy new york primary day to all of you. >> thank you. >> fine people. dana, i'm turning to you first because you heard the trump spokesperson saying corey lewandowski the campaign manager. she said they're adding talent. other people questioned as to whether or not maybe trump isn't satisfied. what's up? >> i think it's a little bit of both. maybe a lot of both. that first and foremost this has been -- i think for people who understand how any organization is run, if they understood how lean and mean the trump organization has been to thi

then there's paul manafort and rick wiley who are veterans of campaigns. rick wiley ran scott walker's presidential campaign while he was still in this race and they're saying you can't alien 8 the rnc. you've got to work with the rnc if you get the nomination. if we get to 1237 we don't want to give them a reason to take away this nomination at the convention. so they are trying to thread the needle, walk a very thin line in order to maintain their support, but also try and lure in those unbound delegates that frankly they will need most likely going into july. >> all right, katy, thank you very much. let's transition to ted cruz where as mentioned he outmaneuvered trump in the delegate count again over the weekend. wyoming, where he swept the republican convention and gained 20 delegates. with the latest poll, the texas senator is looking ahead for the following primaries. hallie jackson is in maryland with the latest on the cruz campaign. hallie as we report that senator cruz is looking forward to what's next, in all of the major polls out whether in pe

you know, the reaction i'm hearing about rick wiley being hired, oh, good for rick. he signed on with the front-runner. but how dare he, how disappointing. doing it for all the wrong reasons, for sure. this a problem for trump right now. he is at war with the republican national committee by his own choice. he thinks, and they think it will be fine if he wins the nomination. but obviously still a huge anti-trump movement. the last thing i'll say is there was a period that now seems laughable when you saw stories that we hate ted cruz so much, maybe trump is better. trump has a long way to go to unify his party. >> there is a difference between, look, i think there is no -- people have written many stories and correct to write them. bringing in paul manafort suggests that trump is trying to professionalize his campaign. on the other hand, that has nothing do with this broader question of getting mainstream establishment republicans at large at the electorate or the establishment, which is another inside game, but not the inside, inside, inside campaign consultants. >>

now you have paul manafort, you have rick wiley and others who we know are already seasoned operatives in indiana at the same time as the stop trump movement is playing big here, steve. it's very interesting to say that it could come down to indiana and california, places that usual lie aren't in play. >> jacob rascon in indiana. yeah, we'll have a competitive primary in may. been a long time on the republican side since we could say that. jacob, thanks for that report. >>> ted cruz focusing on the immediate next round of contests, pennsylvania the biggest prize on the board next tuesday. he's in hershey right now, the first event of the day there, about to begin. hallie jackson covering the cruz campaign. wisconsin was supposed to be the turning point, now the day after new york maybe this feels a little different. what's the game plan for the cruz campaign? >> reporter: listen, bracing for a rough week after donald trump dominated last night in new york. he looks poised to do very well next week in the northeast and midatlantic states but cruz is keeping an eye on those 54 unbound de

so i know rick knows them. >> speaking of rick wiley, i'll have the first interview with him as a trump staffer tomorrow on "meet the press daily." ben ginsburg, thanks very much. i'm joined now by former new york governor and former republican presidential candidate, george pataki. >> good afternoon, chuck. nice being on with you. >> i want to talk about this trump thing for a second. you hear him talk about the rules. you've dealt with him as a government-to-business guy, when he's trying to develop something, or when he's come to you with a plan. what do you make of this? >> this is classic donald trump. it has nothing to do with the rules and everything to do with him. he is the ultimate spoiled rich kid. he's used to getting his way. and if things don't go his way, it's not because perhaps he didn't understand or follow the rules. it's not because some of these people don't like him, it's because somebody rigged the system. and it's just, it's absurd on its face, but it's donald trump, and it's one of the many reasons i think he's not fit to be president. >> let me go to devil's ad

campaign manager corey lewandowski and trump told staffers he wants recent hires, paul manafort and rick wiley to take on major roles. he was introduced by buffalo bills coach, rex ryan. >> one thing i really admire about him is you know what, he will say what is on his mind. >> he went on to promote his new york values, but got tongue-tied when talking about the terrorist attacks. >> i was down there and i watch our police and firemen down at 7-11 and i saw the greatest people i've ever seen in action. i saw the bravest people. >> six protesters were arrested while 21 others were ejected from the venue. earlier, trump took a swipe at ted cruz, tweeting that cruz hates new york for his part, cruz is looking past new york. yesterday, the senator campaigned in maryland, ahead of the april 26th primary. john kasich took sometime off from eating at new york city delis for an event in upstate new york. he told the crowd he is still in the race and he wouldn't leave his family for this long if he didn't feel it was worth it. last night, samantha bee poked fun at his rhetoric. >> kasich continues his

just hired rick wiley who used to work with scott walker's campaign but how much does it matter what> lewandowski remains a confidant and travels with trump often and this decision by the prosecutor down in florida enables lewandowski to continue his role, but what we're seeing right now is an evolution within trump's inner circle. lewandowski has been the sole person at trump's side day by day. now that circle is expanding with the hire of rick wiley, former scott walker advisor but also paul manafort, the veteran gop consultant and others to get from a small operation to something with a national footprint, especially when it comes to state conventions. >> does it, is it too little too late at this point or how much did we read into the fact that they're reorganizing a bit? >> it may be too late. we've seen the trump campaign struggle to get delegates but what you see with the meeting on capitol hill bringing together house members is trying to bolster their relationships, looking ahead to possibly getting the nomination and recognizing their weaknesses in that respect. >> your pap

rick wiley, governor scott walker's former campaign manager, another sign the campaign is trying to get serious about this delegate hunt. tonight here in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, with 71 delegates up for grabs. >> katy tur, thank you. >>> there are even more new twists in the shooting death of former nfl star will smith. for the first time we're hearing his wife's account of the fateful night her husband was killed and she was left badly wounded. nbc's gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: today through her attorney, raquel smith still recovering in the hospital gave her first public account of the shooting death of her husband, former nfl star will smith. >> that night, as she always does, was protecting her. >> reporter: he says saturday night the hummer driven by smith's alleged killer stopped suddenly. >> they slammed on their brakes on magazine street, did not even believe they thit the hummer. suddenly this hummer drove up at great speed behind them, and rammed the back of their car. >> reporter: police say an argument between the two men escalated and hayes opened fire. >>

also hired rick wiley. rick wiley is not exactly the household name that megyn kelly, but he's a very established republican operative with deep roots. worked with reince priebus for the senate campaign committee, for the rnc in previous presidential campaigns, including in scott walker's campaign. and i think you put those two things together and you see donald trump right to take care of the things that are creating problems for him, as he tries to get over the finish line, before the convention. >> eliana, this battle between trump and megyn kelly, this broader battle between donald trump and fox news. sometimes i look at it, and we're trained to say, who's winning and who's losing? i do kind of wonder if both have gotten something out of this, though. >> i'm with you, steve, on that. i think trump was very savvy in pushing back against megyn kelly. it allows him to look like a strong man and like a winner. he's not going to take any good enough from anybody. and befriending sean hannity, who's become a

strategist rick wiley to be his new national political director. trump is adding professionals to his team because he's being outmaneuvered for delegates. trump complained last night the system is rigged. g.o.p. chairman reince priebus responded, "the rules are the rules." six days before the primary in new york, democratic front-runner hillary clinton picked up the endorsement of the new york daily news. the latest poll today has her leading bernie sanders by ten points. sanders got his first endorsement from a senate colleague, jeff merkley of oregon. tonight we are continuing our investigation into the epidemic of prescription painkiller addiction. ground zero is west virginia where doctors write 138 prescriptions for every 100 people. seven doctors have lost their licenses since january. 15 more are being investigated. one of them sat down to explain his practice to jim axelrod. >> reporter: doctor, how are you? meet dr. michael kostenko. he's written more than 30,000 prescriptions for oxycodone in the last two years. how many patients do you h

he brought in rick wiley, campaign manager of scott walker, i am very close to rick, very hands-on guy, knows the intricacies of the system so what this says about candidate trump is he is bright enough, secure enough to surround himself with superstar talent. he has the team to put him over the top. neil: he is preparing for a fight if you include william mcginley, these are guys who are taking the fight to the floor. what would that mean? >> what i'm impressed by is this is the first time he has been a candidate for public office, going for the highest office in the land and i have never seen anybody more quickly on the road than donald trump. he has figured out the system has to be manipulated in order for him to secure a first ballot victory or in a contested or open convention he has got to figure out a way to get the delegates to his cause. the numbers are there. he wasn't my first choice. i get lit up on twitter, tell my twitter trolls better be nice to me or i will support your candidate. neil: you still feel trump is the winner. >> i am a republican. as i talked to rick wiley

he sent paul manafort and this other new aide, rick wiley, down and they spent a couple of days holding look, the hostility you hear from donald trump about the party leadership, about the rnc, about the rules process, that's all an act. that's sort of a role he is playing right now to gin up and motivate his supporters on the stump but he is going to start acting more presidential and involving involving the republican national committee as partners and trying to make them feel included in the trump process. trump very much wants to become the presumptive nominee of this party, and i think to do that he is going to need to apiece a lot -- appease a lot of the party leaders who openly hostile with him. >> we'll see that with donald trump on wednesday, he is in washington speaking to the national press club, the first in a series of policy speeches, wednesday focusing on foreign policy. want to ask you got the story. the last time we had question mark at the convention is 1976, reagan selected his running mate before the convention, didn't work out to well for him. >> a bold move that re

these campaign changes adding rick wiley mccain's campaign manager and paul manefrot. these guys understand the importance of winning the delegate game. for the trump campaign he kept a very tight inner circle to be able to bring in the vast experience that they need in order to ensure that not only if he gets the nomination that for the gop he is able to build on it a bigger and stronger structure come november. if clinton is the nominee it is an uphill battle of a clinton machine rel positioned. >> ted cruz wanting to stop trump from getting the nomination. he's a smart man a good politician. how do you think that will play out? >> i don't know everybody hates him in the senate. (inaudible (inaudible) ted cruz, he's kidding himself. he talked about how you have to unite the party. 2 and a half million more people have voted for trump than cruz. what is he talking about? we should be having the party behind donald trump. all of these maneuvers and tricks and games that he or kasich or rubio or anybody else is what voters are rejecting and why they are backing donald t

it is continuing to be built out now. >> rick wiley, worked for mercury. d.c. . he was with scott walker. paul manafort is a different story. i know he worked the 1976 convention. but do you have any concern that there is a disconnect between you, trump, the campaign, saying we hate the system. the system is bad. the system is dirty. we won't defend it. and hiring someone with a past like paul manafort you know the investigation is on the federal level. representing people in ukraine and elsewhere that are seen as bad people. how does that help make your campaign's point that you are going to be better than the status quo? >> look, what we need to do is unfortunately we have to work within the system. and i hate the system. we saw in colorado the establishment precluded a million people from voting. >> so now you are going to bring in a guy who is seen by many as representing the worst of the system? >> no, that's not the case at all. he is going to help grow our team. the first and foremost thing we need to do is get 1,237 delegates. paul has a proven rec

. >> and one of those other people that he's hired, rick wiley, who was scott walker's former campaign manager. will these moves be enough to make changes necessary to get him to that 1237 number? >> it's a good start, 2000 donald trump, he needed to do this months ago. as we know a lot of these states have these rules in place for example what we've seen in states like colorado, wyoming, where they have the state conventions and courting the delegates. this process has been put in place for a long time. i think donald trump started late in terms of organization. he have to remember that politics is not like running a about making sure that you have the key people in place. i think for paul manafort to be there, that is obviously a very good start in terms of being able to bring in the delegates, but as you know, you're running a two prong campaign, it will be winning the voters in the key states and your ground game and the organization which ted cruz has shown that he's able to do very effectively. and, two, winning the delegates and making sure that the delegates stick to you becaus

they are bringing on rick wiley who was scott walker's former campaign manager when he was running for president. he will be the new national political director of the trump campaign. this is an operative with a lot more field experience than many of trump's current operatives. he also came under some fire with walker for what people felt like was excessive spending. the other thing the trump campaign is doing, a little more d.c. outreach but so far that does not apply to the rnc. it's war within the gop. >> i know that it's stacked against me by the establishment. i fully understand it. >> reporter: donald trump, the party's front-runner, telling cnn he doesn't believe the republican national committee even wants him on the ticket. >> you're saying you don't think the rnc wants you to get the nomination? >> no, i don't think so, i really don't. >> do you think they're actively working against you? >> i don't see it. it's not like i have 15 miles of proof. >> reporter: it's clear trump, still smarting over his loss to ted cruz in colorado. >> how are they stacked against you? >> becaus

instead, newly hired trump strategists, rick wiley seen here avoiding reporters was set to hold a reception for party officials, with fellow trump adviser paul mannafort on thursday that cleared the field for texas senator ted cruz, who argued in favor of a contested convention over simply awarding the nomination to the candidate with the most delegates after the voting ends on june 7th. >> why do you think it is that donald is investing so much time saying it is unfair to expect him to earn a majority? the reason is simple, james, you can't earn a majority. he knows he can't earn a majority. >> earlier cruz's campaign manager jeff roe warned rnc official as trump nomination would mean severe down-ballot losses. >> we came from the grassroots running campaigns in difficult environments or easy environments. state rep, state senate, congressional, statewide. so the interaction between a presidential campaign and the local party is critical. >> ohio governor john kasich was expected to appear later on wednesday evening. rnc chair reince priebus has urged his flock not to use this meeting to r

his campaign director stuart jolly, two days after former walker campaign director, rick wiley, hiredo manage donald trump's ground operation. here is trump trillion on the staff changes. >> when you bring in new people, we're bringing in high level people, the one who ran walker's campaign, i did very well against walker but he ran walker's campaign. he was and is a very top guy, but when you bring other people, i could see some people their feelings get a little bit hurt. i don't know most of these people. deirdre: former massachusetts senator scott brown endorsed donald trump. he is with me now. senator, always great to speak with you. is this reshuffle because of the losses in colorado and wyoming? >> no. something i called for a couple months. stuart did a great job. i worked with him in new hampshire and massachusetts. saw first-hand what he had done. taking the fledgling operation and actually doing wonderfully in the early part obviously of the election. what you need know though, it is different level. it is more national. going and getting to the convention. it is take agrou

he's hired rick wiley.ng this stuff to say rigged.em is how does that contradiction not catch up with him other through the press corps or, more broadly, his opponents making a point? mike: he knows and smart people have been telling him at the end, that will take you so far. if you don't get the nomination on the first ballot, if you don't have the magic number, this becomes an inside game. this becomes direct indication to people who matter. who pushes their levers? how do we get enough delegate votes to win? he's got no choice. he is behind in that front or that is something the crew campaign has been excelling at. nicole: trump is interesting in that he has not made any adjustments to what is really a non-campaign campaign. he's running against the guy with the best campaign organization on either side. he is running a bush 2004-like campaign. ted cruz is running a superb campaign. it's technically perfect. it uses technology. they are finding their voters. trump hasn't -- he has done the things you hav

the latest of these is rick wiley, who is going to trump's national director. wylie is a guy who comes in with a lot of experience. he was a political director at the rnc. he knows how to organize these states. as with any seasoned operative, he comes with his own controversy as well. people blame him on not butt buttonibutto buttoning down the pursestrings on scott walker's campaign. >> thank you so much. sunlen serfaty is with the cruz campaign tonight. how is cruz responding to this? >> reporter: it's interesting to watch. senator cruz is largely sitting back and just relishing this moment letting the rnc and trump duke this out themselves. what we have seen from senator cruz is a very pointed and calculated insistence basically to continue to bring up donald trump's complaining over the nominating process almost to draw a contrast with how his campaign is able to navigate the delegate rules, continuing to bring up like he did today here in erie, pennsylvania, how his campaign outmaneuvered donald trump in wisconsin. today he told this crowd that trump is ve

trump is certainly expanding his inner circle brings in rick wiley and scott walker's campaign manager. already have veteran hands new to the team. ben carson's bid and of course, paul, the new strategist on delegates. >> it seems to me like this is attempting both an inside and outside strategy at the same time. they have to be aware the math is going to be tough to get to 1237 and they're about to win abunch of states big. >> yes, the way i see trump now is he remains his own chief strategist. he's underscoring his outsider appeal. at the same time, this is an organization that's struggled repeatedly. it's not built relationships across the country within the republican party. if he wants to be the nominee he has to address that. for now, he's bringing in some people to try to address that. it remains an unresolved issue. >> to me, there's a carrot and stick being set up. if they're going to get to the 1,100th randy evans said, the carrot is i've got some inside guys and the stick is my people were right. >> i don't know what the carrot is. the 1100, the idea history will make 1,100

he also has rick wiley who was the former political director of the rnc and had run governor walker'scampaign and tim clark who is a veteran californian operative to run california. seems he's reaching out to some of these establishment types. >> corey has run his campaign from the beginning did a great job and didn't have the resources. most important thing now, by bringing more people in but trump's committed to put $25 million in these closing races. that's as much money he spent so far. hiring more staff. putting more money into the campaign not just the professionals. he's expanding the operation. >> somehow back in the '90s you ran ross perot's campaign. two billionaires with no political experience. brash. in your book you wrote this. a good president has to be secure with himself and perot is insecurity, incar nature. presidents need to be tough and perot can't take a punch. and he has no clue about how congress runs. he has zero appreciation for the constitutional role of congress. from day one he would have been at war with capitol hill. the presidency is the premier inspira

they hired rick wiley, scott walker's old campaign manager. all of this to bring it up. it came as shadow of the florida incident was hanging over lewandoski. he says those hires are example of the trump campaign growing to stay competitive. >> the days of one and two people making up the core of the team can't exist. i looked at all campaigns from all winning campaigns. they put 25, 35, 40, 50, 60, of the best killers on the planet on that team to be successful. that's what we're now building. reporter: melissa, i asked the notion about the cruz campaign is better organized and strategy and ground game. he outright dismissed that. nothing more than basically inside basketball. he thinks after new york come tuesday, he feels it is very possible that cruz is potentially mathematically eliminated from reaching 1237 on the first ballot. a lot there with corey lewandoski earlier today. melissa: that was trump headquarters? echo chamber and look of it, like you were in the basement. is that in the garage? what is going on there? reporter: it is on one of the floors there. it

he, instead, has sent his top aides, rick wiley and paul manafort to host a reception for rnc officials tomorrow, greta. >> james, is it -- does it hurt him that he doesn't show up at that? he doesn't show up in colorado. he didn't do particularly well in colorado, trump didn't. maybe he saw the writing on the wall with how the votes are going. i mean, it's great that he is sending two of his lieutenants there to host a reception or whatever. but should donald trump be there? >> there is no question that the 168 members of the republican national committee who have gathered here in hollywood, florida for this spring meeting probably would have like to do have heard directly face-to-face from donald trump. that's really what this whole session is all about is face-to-face time with the candidates and these people. all 168 members of the rnc are delegates to the summer convention. that said, as the voting unfolds, the -- the rnc delegates and all the other delegates are going to go essentially where the momentum is. and if donald trump is able to run the table between now and june 7, the