james rosen is in hollywood, florida, where the rnc is meeting and where trump officials have been remindingim over the last 24 hours, different guy, new guy and just you wait and see. that's the gist of it. james, what's the latest from there? >> reporter: good afternoon in many ways this rnc spring meeting has been a test of the strength of the rnc chairman, reince priebus and by all account he has his standing improved. priebus and the allies beat back the only challenge to this authority when the party's rules committee voted down an attempt by an important committeeman to suggest a change in the rules governing the summer convention, this morning priebus wrapped up the meeting with an elect warning to the front-runner donald trump remeaning the billionaire he is run ought for the republican party's jersey and needs to support the party. and that was coupled with a statement to the delegates to rally around the standard-bearer. >> now, i know that our candidates are going to try to say some things that attract attention. that's part of politic. we all need to get behind the nominee. unit

in the recording obtained by cnn, trump's newly mentioned manager paul manafort is telling rnc officialsgop front-runner can and will change. >> he's sitting in a room and talked in a private room, it's a different persona. >> reporter: manafort has suggested that trump is playing a part for the primary campaign but will change as the campaign moves forward. >> that's what it is important for you to understand that he gets it and the part that he's playing and the images are going to change and clinton is still going to be crooked hillary. >> reporter: manafort making the case that in a general election, trump's vulnerabilities will be easier to address than clinton's. >> fixing personality negatives are easier than a character. >> how many of y'all here are tired of politicians lying to us? >> ted cruz is seizing on the comments saying they prove that trump can't be trusted. >> in the past 48 hours, donald trump's lobbyists have taken over his campaign and they have told republican party bosses that everything donald has said on the campaign is just to show that he doesn't believe any o

trump convention manager paul manafort. manafort will be our guest from the site of the rnc spring meeting, hollywood, florida. where republican national committee officials have been wrangling whether to change rules this trump says are rigged against him. >> politics is a very dirty, dirty dishonest business, folks, and i've never seen anything like it. and we're running now for office, and it's a rigged deal. this whole thing with delegates is rigged. it's rigged. where i win louisiana and i don't get as many delegates as some guy that lost? lou: trump himself is set to hold a rally this hour in harrisburg, pennsylvania. we'll be bringing that to you live when he takes the stage, and i'll discuss trump's feud with the rnc with republican campaign attorney charlie spies, and joining us steve forbes. our top story tonight, donald trump refusing to retreat from a discussion on wedge issues. the republican front-runner asserting views on abortion and transgender bathrooms. as a result, ted cruz trying to attack trump for not being an ideological purist. carl cameron with our report. >> reporter: donald trump's differences with social conservatives are on f

the trump campaign out there, new endorsements coming out of this weekly meeting trump campaign officials are holding while congress is in session. luke russert spoke with some of them after. this is the first time manafort has attended these meetings. he told luke cruz's campaign is not just dead, it is buried. >> reporter: can indiana be the nail in the coffin for ted cruz like chris collins said it could be? >> last tuesday was the nail in the coffin. >> and luke is with us now. you've been reporting on every one of these weekly meetings for us. the trump camp seems very happy with the meetings this week. are you sensing a shift in the tide on capitol hill? >> reporter: yes, and the reason why is because of the large win that donald trump had last tuesday, specifically in the state of pennsylvania, where he managed to win i believe every single county. there is now immense pressure being put on members in the house, and i would assume some in the senate, with the idea of, look, this domination is all but inevitable. your constituents went overwhelmingly for donald trump. it's time for

that talking points memo shows trump officials are working delegates across the country just as hard mely the cruz campaign, and trying to push back on that narrative that trump is too unpopular to win. the memo goes on to say look at the sizable negatives for hillary clinton. she also has a big popularity problem. the trump campaign and donald trump are trying to make the case that popularity does not always equal electability. >> they would be thrilled with a 1400 delegate count but very happy with 1237 as well. jim acosta, stand by. let's get more, jason chaffetz of utah is chairman of house oversite and reform committee. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> i assume you heard trump's victory speech, it was brief, 8 minutes, sort of presidential. spoke about senator ted cruz, didn't talk about lying ted. today he is back to lying ted. what's your reaction? >> he got a night's rest, got back to business. what i love about donald trump, he is always negotiating, putting you back on your heels. the republican party, you have to remember, he is bringing millions more people in

today trump told supporters in waterbury that he is not toning down his message. his chief adviser told republican officials that trump would show more restraint. trump called for his opponents, senator ted cruz and governor john kasich, to acknowledge their losses. >> they're both mathematically eliminated. they should drop out, in all fairness. of bernie sanders remain upbeat in baltimore, despite polls showing hillary clinton is leading in maryland. sanders today criticized hillary clinton's record, he also attacked clinton's wage plan, and clinton spoke on the economy in new haven. >> more good jobs with rising incomes, and we need to make sure that our education system works for every child no matter what zip code that child lives in. >> reporter: clint >> clint o on speaking at an event in maryland. all but one of those states on tuesday is a closed primary, and that means independents can't vote. that has hurt bernie sanders in other states. >>> well, for the third straight day, prince fans are flocking to the singer's paisley park estate in suburban minneapolis. a memorial outside the fence there of

does trump have a point? >> reporter: official, trump's point is that america is not a direct democracy. and of course. talk to al gore about what it's like to get more votes and not win an election. but the deck is stacked against him? well, the fact is it's otherwise. there is a candidate on the republican side who has gotten 44% of the delegates and only 37% of the popular vote. but that's donald trump. because of the ways of the rules and thresholds, the people that voted for jeb bush, he didn't get any delegates. trump has a higher percentage of the delegates than the popular vote and it points to the idea that, you know, come this convention in july, there may be fights before we talk about who will win the momnation. nomination, fights over the rules themselves. >> and there are complaints complaints about super delegates explain about that. >> reporter: kenny, ironically, on the democratic side, it's less democratic. 1 out of 6 are super delegates, the democratic be -- members of congress. they automatically get to vote at

. >> you have officially endorsed donald trump? >> i didn't officially endorsed donald trump. by voting for him and actually having the conversation that i did, that was the endorsement. and i think what you are going to ask-to-see from here on out. i don't know how many more endorsements you will see. we are beyond that point now. is he doing well. set presumptive nominee for us. and i think that's the place that we need to go. we need to keep that in mind. >> who comes from the trump campaign to these meetings or is it just members of congress? >> basically members of congress but then there is rick deer born, who is helping on the hill, you know, coordinate all these efforts with jeff session's office. gosh, rick gates was there today as well. >> if he doesn't get 1237 delegates, which is the magic number, most of the delegates. should he get the nomination or should it be 1237. >> we need to follow the process as it is. i'm confident that he is going to get that number. >> you are? >> i am. >> you heard it right here. we will see how he does in the next week is a big week.

officials in missouri declared trump the official winner of that state's primary. he picks up 12 delegates. it with us close. as a result the state did not make an official delegation. when we did our delegate map we did not count the 12. now the state says he won and we are including those 12 in that math. >>> we are joined by one republican lawmaker, a guy who knows what happened in colorado very well. colorado senator cory gardner. i want to get to the process there in a moment. but first the big news on capitol hill where you are standing right now. paul ryan set three hours from now to give a speak where he will put to rest any idea that he would allow himself to be nominated by the republican party to be president. your reaction? >> i don't know times paul ryan has to rule it out but he will rule it out again today. it is nonsense that somebody outside of the three people running for this nomination are going to be elected to our nominee. it's nonsense. one of the three will be our nominee. i know there are some who want there to be through the looking glass

within the never trump movement told me don't be so sure. the official said trump needs indiana. he wished cruz and kasich joined forces weeks ago. fund-raiser in indiana today. a- john and christine. >> thanks, jim. on the democratic side, today could be a chance for hillary clinton to put more distance between herself and bernie sanders. clinton is 250 pledged delegates ahead. late last night, clinton and saints spoke in duelling television town halls. arguing over whose job it is to unite the democratic party if clinton wins the nomination. >> it is incumbent upon secretary clinton to reach out to my supporters, but all of the american people with the agenda that they believe will represent the interests of lower income fames and middle class and working families and those concerned about the environment and not just big money interests. >> i did not put down conditions. i did not say if senator obama does x, y, z, i will support him. at that time, 40% of my supporters said they would not support him. i spent an enormous amount of time convincing my s

. >> you should point out, donald trump's top officials. again, they are saying the system is rigged. and the candidates, they are saying, they they believe the party establishment is scared. the people scare the hell out of him. >> hillary clinton is speaking, we will bring you a live report in a few moments, now, the panel. . >> the super delegates committed to her, switch? >> first off, she has to reach the magic number of 2383. within the margins, even with new york in consideration, he picked up two dozen, about fourlt delegates right now in new york. so, this is her home state, she won by a smaller margin than in 2008. it will be a tough fight. a closed primary, wasn't friendly to bernie sanders. we are all aware of that it they are not supposed to declare until they are on the convention floor. all unified. turned this idea of challenging money and status quo, i think we have to start paying attention to that as the numbers get closer in the next several races, there are aren't as many close primaries like new york. 40% of them are s

trump convention manager paul manafo manafort. manafort will be our guest tonight from hollywood florida. that's where republican national committee officials have been wrangling over whether to change rules that trump says are rigged against him. >> politics is a very dirty, dirty dishonest business, folks, and i have never seen anything like it, and we're running now for office and it's a rigged deal. this whole thing with delegates is rigged. it's a rig. where i win louisiana and i don't get as many delegates as some guy that lost? >> the newest franklin and marshall college poll shows trump on top 40% support, that's 14 points ahead of ted cruz, and congressman from pennsylvania lieu barletta and marino -- well, these two congressmen are leading the effort to line up trump supporters to be elected as delegates. 54 of the safe 71 delegates will be unbound, not pledged to support anyone that emerges from this primary tuesday, it's quite a system and just part of what has been an adventure in this primary season. joining us now is the top trump campaign official, he is the convention manager, strategist, paul manafort. paul a veteran repub

tonight was the night where they sort of started to say, okay, it looks like this is going to be trump, one official said to me the only person who can stop trump is trump. i wonder what you make of that, kasie, because you've been covering that movement. >> this is a place they clearly decided they weren't going to play in the northeast. they all on background, there's a lot of finger pointing going on, saying, you know what, john kasich wasn't playing here. he was the guy that maybe had a shot. you could see if he had come in here with money, he could potentially move the numbers. the reality is, he didn't have any of it. >> why? was it too expensive to go up in the new york media market? is it really -- >> that's crazy. >> it's a challenge here, it's always been getting these republican donors onboard. if you think about it, they all went a year-plus ago, they went in big for jeb bush. they gave millions to the right to rise super pac. it went nowhere. they've watched one candidate after of the other after the other fall to donald trump. and so now there is this group of them, they're funding our

it's quite a system and j part of what primary season.tu in this joining us now is the t trump campaign official, he isis the conventition managege strategis paul manafofort. paul a veteran repepublican strategi strategist, h he's worked with presidents ford, reagan, bushh and joining us from hollywood, floridida, i should say the sit of the rnc spring meeting. it i is great to have you on th showow. i k kno that youu and rick w wi talked t to the rnc members.s. do you f feel you were succeces in conveying the messasages tha you wanteded? >> well, d donald trump thoughtt was important becausese he coul not attend thihis week dueue to fact thahat he'sut t there cacampaigningn the primamaries that t the campaign have a presence here too answer any questions the rnc membe have and to also let them k know tha as far as donald trumpp is concerned, y you know, as hee becomemes the p presumpti nomin of the party h he'sooking to work with ththe rnrnc and workk the o other leaders of f the st parties to beginin to put togetr the framework foror what will ba united r republican effort in t fall. >> and, p

leon: a month after the polls closed in missouri clinton trump today officially declared as winners of the respective primaries there. if you are not thrilled with how the election is shaping up, you are hardly alone. only one candidate has a big lead when it comes to favorability. the question is how important is that factor? chief political correspondent scott thuman is standing by at the capitol hill bureau t explain that for us. scott? scott: yeah, leon. how important is it? we are seeing how important it is. a lot of people thought paul ryan would be the knight in shining armor and come to the rescue because they didn't like the republic candidates on the current slate. that seems to be dashed. that is why you better be liked if you want to get to the white house. >> the antics the mud slinging and political mayhem, are they adding up to a serious concern? do many voters wish all of this would fade away? >> it's odd to sit here in april and think that america is ready for the presidential election to be over and it has barely started. scott: the level of malaise when majority of a

pyongyang hasn't officially reacted to trump's response. scolding president obama for nuclear u.s. a country known for rhetoric, he believes trump's ideology is dangerous. trump's remarks give us a deeper look at america's hostile policy against my country, he says. simply put, america's hostile acts against us are making the situation on the korean peninsula worse. he warns a policy like trumps would only escalate north korea's nuclear arms race. >> let's talk to will ripley about this. good to see you this morning. north korea likely doesn't want any of their enemies to have nuclear arms. that's not anything that anybody would be surprised by. but do you think that they would criticize the idea, regardless of who said it? do you believe that they really are not watching this u.s. campaign and the way it's playing out? >> the vast majority of live here in pyongyang and other parts of the country certainly aren't watching simply because they can't. they don't have action toes outside media in any form. government officials themselves, while they claim they don't care about the u.s.

. >> reporter: the trump campaign is confident that he can reach the magic number of 1,237. the top official within the never trump movement don't be sure. trump needs indiana. he wished kasich and cruz joined forces weeks ago. kasich is still attending a fundraiser in indiana later today. >> on the democratic side today, a chance for hillary clinton to put more distance between herself and sanders. adding super delegates and her lead is more than 700. each arguing who's job it is to win the democratic party. >> it is incumbent upon clinton to reach out to my supporters and the american people with an agenda that will represent the interests of working families and middle class and those concerned about the environment and not just big money intere interests. >> i did not put down conditions. i did not say if obama says x, y, z, i will support him. at that time, 40% of my supporters said they would not support him. i spent an enormous amount of time convincing my supporters to support him. the vast majority did. that is what i think one does. >> cnn's brianna keilar is with the clinton campa

kasich and ted cruz are expected to be at the rnc meeting, but we should point out donald trump's top officials, paul manafort, new lawyer hired, bill mckinley, they're talking to the delegates and party officials at the rnc meeting down in florida, and all of that comes as an internal campaign memo that we have obtained is now out and it shows what the trump campaign feels about the delegate process. once again, they're saying the system is rigged for the republican party's allocation of delegates to candidates that win the primaries and caucuses and they're saying in the memo, anderson, they believe party establishment is scares. the people scare the hell out of them. >> hillary clinton is speaking, going to bring you a live report in moments. in the meantime, bring in sanders supporter newman konts, clinton supporter, christine quinn. the atlantic peter bar nard, dana bash, and matt lewis, cnn political contributor. the sanders campaign does seem to be firm in insistence that it will be decided by superdelegates at the convention. even if that's the case, if this goes to convention, why woul

david: just to make the point clear, mike huckabee has not yet officially endorsed donald trump. he has been on stage with him on certain events and et cetera. there has been no official endorsement as of yet. >>> there is top secret and then there is top secret. is president obama downplaying hillary clinton's email scandal? how the president's new comments could affect the investigation going forward. >> there is classified and then there is classified. there's stuff that is really top secret, top secret, and there's stuff that is being presented to the president or the secretary of state. melissa: they're behind their desk campaign for president 100% but not where it may matter most. major misstep for the trump kids. david: uh-oh. former new hampshire governor judd gregg that bernie sanders supporters are blinded to reality of socialism. he will join us later to explain. that is coming up. ram trucks are reaching new heights when it comes to capability and efficiency. the ram heavy duty is the most capable full-sized pickup on the road today. and, the ram 1500 is the most fuel-

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 recommend substantive

reporters the gop front-runner wants to see the party rules changed for the next election cycle, but trump officialsmagic number of 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. he heads to indiana and maryland for events in those states next. jim acosta, cnn, new york. >> joining us now is farrah johnson, who was a regional director for the obama 2012 campaign, and a former adviser to atlanta's democratic mayor, kasim reid. >> you see him sitting next to republican jackie gingrich kushman. she says she doesn't have any dog in this fight right now, but will push to see if we can get your opinions. welcome to you both. >> thank you. >> jackie, we do want to start with you because it was very early in the game, about 9:00 eastern time that cnn projected a win for donald trump on the republican side. that was not long after the polls closed. so a very convincing win for donald trump. is this a turning point for him, or do you still see that there's a possibility of a contested convention in july? >> well, this is a huge night for donald trump. don't be confused. he won very, very big in his home sta

trump brand. safety officials say the andards.al flammability do not no one injured. >>> to kansas city, missouri.ash cam video showing police trying to pull over an suv driver for a traffic violation. the car speeding away, losing control. the officer rushing to help the driver, tossed in a ditch, saving his life with cpr. >>> amy schumer taking on "glamour" magazine. upset over being included in the plus-size issue. saying the labels are unnecessary. "glamour" magazine apologizing. and this ad being banned, saying the model looks unhealthy. >>> when we come back, remembering a country music legend. when they actually did start saving. this gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future. if we all start saving a little more today, we'll all be better prepared tomorrow. prudential. bring your challenges. anaged. except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who ha

the trump rally, officially set to begin at 7:00 tonight. fuplan on attending, you should know, no bags are allowed, everyone will be passing through metal detectors. the hicksville-bethpage area around 7:00 tonight, you should expect extensive traffic delays. we're live in bethpage, kristin thorne, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, kristin. and remember to make eyewitness news your home leading up to the primary. follow us on twitter and on facebook, as we follow the candidates. >>> frightening moments on long island when a school bus erupted in flames, moments after the children ran off. this video shows the empty bus, near lakewood avenue in merric this morning. you can see thick, black smoke, rising from the bus that is fully engulfed in flames. authorities say when the bus stopped at the light, all the kids got off. no one was hurt. the fire appeared to start in the engine. >>> new at noon, parents on alert, and a search is under way for a possible predator who tried to lure a 12-year-old girl. that girl said he she was walking h

crisscrossing washington in his motorcade, trump sat down with top rnc officials behind closed doors, later vowing in a tweet that he will bring the party together, even as john kasich and ted cruz furiously tried to block his road to the white house. >> i have to tell you as a commander and chief and leader of the free world, you don't get do-overs. you need to be able to get it right the first time. >> reporter: kasich and cruz are now tag teaming trump over his gaffe that women should be punished if they undergo an illegal abortion, a position he abandoned hours later. >> do you believe in punishment for abortion? yes or no, as a principle. >> the answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. >> on a popular conservative radio show, cruz attacked trump as uninformed. >> i think it was just the latest confirmation that donald has not thought seriously about the issues facing the country, and he is willing to say just about anything to try to get elected. >> reporter: and while team trump was brushing off the abortion comments as merely a slip-up. >> there was a misspeak he

trump campaign officials told me they hope to get more but this was only a ming of eight or so who have already done so. they didn't expand it yet. >> thank you for being with me. let's go to hallie jackson in buffalo, new york. what's his strategy for coming back upstage? >> i want to give you a bit of a behind-the-scenes look. folks in the audience will be asking questions of senator kruchltz it will be newsworthy. he's hoping not to necessarily get a win in new york. it's unlikely. it's practically impossible. but cruz is trying to keep trump below that 50% dlethreshold tr to keep it at least not a shutout. set your expectation high for the opponent so you can claim some kind of a more victory. interestingly cruz is talk about his strategy publicly and i want you to listen to what he has to say when it comes to the delegate hunt. >> there's one way and only one way that you earn the republican nomination. that is you earn the votes elected by the people. going back to 1860 that has been consistently for more than a republican party been the nominee. if the donald can't get the majori

election, specifically donald trump in a rare interview granted to cnn a government official is calling on nuclear weapons quote absurd and ill logical. will ripley sat down for that exclusive interview and joins me from pyongyang. how concerned is this country about the election. what did you learn? >> well they claim, pam, they don't care very much about the u.s. election. however they are closely watching it. and of course what happens in the united states directly affects life here in north korea because of the sanctions and the other measures that u.s. is taking to try to stop this country from developing among other things its nuclear programs and yet rhetoric like what we have heard from donald trump north koreans say only encourages them to try harder to get more weapons because they feel in danger because of the policies that trump proposed. >>. >> few north americans understand the politics like this former ambassador, now deputy director general at the institute of international studies. thinks think tank monitors global events and reports back to their leadership. >> we're n

that is where trump wrapped up his speech. police officials going out the doors, yep, these police officers in riot gears going out the door that is the door we came in right? we tried to go back out there and wouldn't let us. looks like they're opening it up again. maybe we'll go south to take a look. last time we went out there, the protests really calmed down. they started doing what they do. they started singing and chanting but stopped direct physical confrontations with police in riot gear trying to block their way. gerri: you mentioned before all the republican candidates are gerri: you mentioned the republican candidates are coming through, dinners, lunches, breakfast. trump is the only one who gets this kind of welcome, my friend. and apparently the protesters pretty much tracking them down from southern california to northern california. do we have any idea what's going to happen next with the protesters, and what their game plan might be? >> i don't. in this state, in the city, especially, we're outside of san francisco. just consid

joinin us now is the top trump campaign official, he the convenon mar, strategist, paul manart. ul a veteran rublican strategi strategist,e's worked with presidenents ford, reagan, bus and joining us from hollywood, flora, i shod say t the site of the rnc spring meeting. its great to have you on the show. inow that yo and rickiley talkedo the rnc member do youeel you were sucssful in conveying the mesges that you want >> well,ald trump thought it was important becaue could not attend t fact t he's outre mpaigning in the priries that campaign have a presence h here t answer any questions the rnc members have as far as donald trums hat concerned, know, as h beco thesumptive nomee of the partys looking to work with e and wor with theer leaders othe state parties to beg to put togher the framework f what will be a unitedepublican effort in the fall. >> and, paul, the -- working with thernc, so much public what would we say acrimony tween the rnc, the man that will be leading the convenon, paul ryan, a donald trump of course bngng extremely critical of the primary -- primary system,

. >>> meanwhile, authorities have officially announced that trump's campaign manager corey lewandowski will not be prosecuted. authorities admit that lewandowski did grab michelle fields but the evidence is not strong enough to criminally prosecute. they say that the video shows fields defying a secret service order to not enter a protected area last month. and prosecutors argue lewandowski was justified in his actions to protect trump. last night, lewandowski said he was grateful for trump's loyalty during this quote, difficult time and he doesn't remember the incident because it wasn't quote memorable. in a statement, the trump campaign says this. the matter is now concluded. >>> at least nine people were killed and 800 injured after an earthquake struck in japan. it was followed by a second strong tremor. japanese officials say there is no risk of tsunami. images show the damage. collapsed buildings and homes and buckled streets. rescue crews, they are searching for victims at this hour and an 8-month-old baby though was pulled from a collapsed home relatively unscathed. some six ho

the congressman from pennsylvania, pennsylvania a state that trump swept on tuesday in the primary. he is saying officiallyhat he will back trump as did congressman miller from florida. he has been advising trump on national security issues. mark sanford saying many of us expressed concern are reconciling concerns that in all likelihood, trump will be the eventual nominee. that from a backer of ted cruz. outside the establishment and how he built this campaign. now it seems they are turning to try to lockdown support from the republican establishment and making inroads there. >> they have been doing it for about a month, month and a half going behind the scenes and trying to convince members of congress to get on board. it wasn't so successful early on. especially because he was attacking the party almost every day, calling it a rigged system. it didn't look like he was necessarily going to get to 1237. as he won more contests, the overwhelming win as it looks like he could win indiana and looks like he could do well in california. we are seeing more and more folks start to warm to donald trump's candidacy

reporter: this less than 48 hours after his new campaign chief was recorded telling republican officials trump will tone things down, and that his over the top rhetoric is just an act. >> he gets it and the part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that you've been expecting but he wasn't ready for. the image is going to change. >> reporter: but trump clearly isn't on board. >> i sort of don't like toning it down, you know? >> reporter: the front-runner says his bombastic style works. >> if i acted presidential i guarantee you that this morning i wouldn't be here. i have to rant and rave, i have to keep you people going. otherwise you're going to fall asleep on me, right? >> reporter: in connecticut, voters have mixed feelings. >> he just seems very authentic. i think this whole political thing brought this out of him, it's just always there. >> i do like what he stansds for but i don't like the way that he's saying it. >> you're looking for a cleaned up trump? >> yes, one with little bit of finesse, class. >> reporter: but rival ted cruz says it's all one big show. >> donald trump

trump sounded like his old self. >> build the wall! build the wall! >> reporter: but behind closed doors, the man now taking charge of his campaign was recorded promising republican officials that trump will tone it down. york times." >> the part he's been playing is evofling into the part that you've been expecting. when he's in a room, when he's talking business and talking politics, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose. >> reporter: trump himself promised a transformation months ago -- >> once you get to a certain level, it changes. i will be changing very rapidly. i'm very capable of changing to anything i want to change to. >> reporter: now senator ted cruz -- branded "lyin' ted" by trump -- is turning the insult around. >> he is telling us, he is lying to us. >> reporter: cruz now calling trump's entire campaign a lie. >> 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. it doesn't make any sense to support the guy who is blatantly he is making fun of us right now. >> jon, we've seen signs of the new trump. but we'll be seeing even more next week? >> reporter: they're going to h