Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s convention manager said in an interview that aired Friday that campaigns have different phases, and Mr. Trump has recognized that simply winning might not be enough at this point.

“Campaigns have different phases. Trump has done an historic thing in this campaign with message and with social media,” convention manager Paul Manafort said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“But because the campaigns come in stages, he also understood that there [comes] a time when winning isn’t enough, but it’s how you win and how much you win,” he said. “And he recognized this was the time, and he reached out to some people who suggested maybe we got together.”

“I’ve known Donald since the 1980s, and we talked about it, and he felt I could help him as I felt and he made the changes,” Mr. Manafort said. “I work directly for the boss.”

Mr. Manafort said he believes Mr. Trump will “absolutely” reach the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination before the GOP convention in July and that Sen. Ted Cruz, Mr. Trump’s top 2016 Republican rival, “has seen his best day.”

“The reality is this convention process will be over with sometime in June, probably June 7th and it’ll be apparent to the world that Trump is over the 1,237 number,” he said. “And at that point in time, when it is apparent, everything is going to come together.”

On Thursday, Mr. Trump announced he was consolidating the functions related to the nomination process and assigning them to Mr. Manafort, who was announced as the campaign’s convention manager last month.

Mr. Manafort, a seasoned operative, also worked on the convention efforts for former Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

The campaign said Mr. Manafort, working with campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner, will direct the campaign’s activities in areas including delegate operations; Washington, D.C., outreach; and a D.C. office opening next week.

“The nomination process has reached a point that requires someone familiar with the complexities involved in the final stages,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “I am organizing these responsibilities under someone who has done this job successfully in many campaigns.”

“This will allow the rest of my team to deal with the increasing needs of a national campaign for both the pre-Convention phase and most importantly, the general election,” Mr. Trump said. “Paul is a well-respected expert in this regard and we are pleased to have him join the efforts to Make America Great Again.”

The campaign said Mr. Trump is expected to announce “several new hires and promotions within the campaign in the weeks ahead.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump lost Wisconsin to Sen. Ted Cruz, though polls show the billionaire businessman as the favorite to win the New York primary on April 19.

In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has also watched as unfriendly delegates were chosen in Louisiana, North Dakota and Colorado. He’s also defended Mr. Lewandowski after the campaign manager was charged with simple battery after an altercation with a reporter.

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