Paul Manafort, talks with reporters at Trump Tower in New York City after Donald Trump addressed the media April 19 following his win in the New York primary. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO Trump aides to RNC members: We can expand general election map

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Donald Trump’s top brass addressed a skeptical audience of Republican National Committee members here Thursday evening, presenting a detailed case for why he’d be able to defeat Hillary Clinton in a general election.

During a more than one-hour meeting on the third floor of the Diplomat, a luxury resort overlooking the South Florida oceanfront where RNC members are gathered for their annual spring meeting, Trump strategists Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley argued that the New York businessman would expand the number of states in which Republicans would be competitive during the fall campaign. They also said that Trump would be able to add to the states the GOP carried in 2012.


The Trump team is looking to make inroads with a party hierarchy that remains deeply concerned about the mogul’s electoral prospects and that has been reluctant to embrace him. Over the course of the week, many party officials have said they remain troubled by Trump’s rhetoric and by his frequent attacks on the RNC, which he’s accused of orchestrating a “rigged” nomination process that’s stacked against him.

The biggest concern, many in the GOP point to, is his ability to win.

“What they really did is, they put up electoral maps for Mitt Romney and they talked about the general election plan,” said Brandon Bell, the Rhode Island Republican Party chairman. “I think it was smart to talk about that.”

The presentation was also geared toward convincing RNC members that Trump, who has spurned the traditional relationship-building within the party that most candidates partake in, is serious about building a substantial political apparatus and professionalizing his operation. Accompanying Manafort and Wiley were several other political veterans who’ve recently signed onto the Trump team, including Ed Brookover and Don McGahn. They told the group that they would soon be rolling out additional hires.

After the presentation, the Trump aides spent more than an hour talking individually with the scores of attendees who packed the room.

“They said they understand they need to work with the RNC, and that it’s in our mutual best interests,” said Steve Duprey, an influential New Hampshire RNC member, adding that he came away impressed.

As he departed, Manafort told reporters that should Trump win the nomination, he intends to work in conjunction with the party structure.

“We’re not going to run independent operations,” he said. “The states where we’ve done well – those are decent Republicans. So, we’re going to reach out to them and work out plans.”

Some, however, remained non-committal.

“It was partially convincing. I’m not ready to come to a conclusion,” said Lee Hoffman, an RNC member from Nevada. “I want to see more, I want to hear more.”’

The Trump forces aren’t the only ones this week wooing the RNC’s 168 members – all of whom will be delegates at the July convention. Unlike Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich appeared in person to make the case before members.

Bell, whose state is holding its primary on Tuesday, said Trump erred in not showing up – a message he relayed to Manafort and Wiley when they finished speaking.

“I would have wanted to see Mr. Trump here,” he said. “This is the only time you’re going to find 168 delegates in one room.”