Donald Trump, after notching a big win in New York, is planning to roll out significant changes in his campaign, including giving a policy speech on foreign affairs and using teleprompters and a speechwriter.

He and his newly recast team also are pledging to do more outreach to Washington Republican leaders, who have often been hostile and the target of Trump attacks, and to spend significant amounts of money to run a more conventional campaign.

Mr. Trump, in an interview, acknowledged the need for a shift. “The campaign is evolving and transitioning, and so am I,” he said. “I’ll be more effective and more disciplined.” He’s changing, he said, because “I’m not going to blow it.”

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Still, Mr. Trump said he wouldn’t substantially change his personal style and populist message at his huge rallies.

“I’m still the same candidate,” he said. “Can you imagine how upset my supporters would be after waiting for hours?”


Indeed, at his first post-New York rally Wednesday in Indianapolis, Mr. Trump reverted to form, calling Sen. Ted Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton “Crooked Hillary,” while taunting protesters who were being escorted out.

Though his New York win, with some 60% of the vote, cemented Mr. Trump’s position as most likely to win the GOP nomination, he continues to face the challenge of warding off rivals led by Mr. Cruz to accumulate the 1,237 delegates needed.

The goal now “is to create so much distance in the total number of votes and delegates between them that the inevitability of the Trump candidacy will be powerful,” said Paul Manafort, a veteran political consultant recently brought onto the team. That could help persuade uncommitted delegates to overcome misgivings and move Mr. Trump’s way. The five primary states next Tuesday appear to be favorable terrain for him.

Donald Trump’s victory speech in New York on Tuesday night was shorter, and appeared to be more scripted than usual. Recently-hired campaign adviser Paul Manafort describes a refinement of strategy. WSJ’s Jason Bellini reports. Photo: Matt McDonald

The evolutions in the campaign organization and style began early this month with the arrival of Mr. Manafort. He was recruited to handle delegate procurement and manage what could be a raucous convention. But after he did an audit of the unorthodox operation, his role grew to one of converting it to a more traditional campaign.


The new direction is a shift from campaign manager Corey Lewandowski’s mantra “Let Trump be Trump.” Mr. Manafort’s position means that Mr. Lewandowski isn’t calling all the shots, but instead can focus on “overseeing day-to-day operations,” Mr. Lewandowski said.

An early step in the revamp will be the foreign-affairs speech, set for April 27 in Washington. One theme, Mr. Trump said, will be the relationship between economics and national security. “We’re protecting nations, and we’re not being properly compensated for that protection,” he said.

He has said that before, particularly regarding the U.S. contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the line has rattled U.S. allies in Europe. A test of the speech will be whether he can call for more burden-sharing without further unsettling allies.

Mr. Trump will deliver the speech with teleprompters, which he has often derided. This week, a pair were set up in his office, which he was using to practice. Still, he won’t use them at his rallies.

More policy speeches are in the works, with jobs a likely topic. As the campaign sets up an office in Washington, it plans to hire a speechwriter. Mr. Trump has never used one, preferring to riff at his rallies, from his hand-scrawled notes of just a few words.


Mr. Trump’s speech Tuesday night, though delivered without a teleprompter, gave a preview of the new style he plans. It lasted less than eight minutes and lacked the negative adjectives about his rivals that peppered previous victory speeches. The focus was on delivering jobs and becoming the nominee.

Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, has found his role restricted somewhat as the campaign has brought aboard veteran political operatives such as Paul Manafort and has begun evolving toward a more traditional style. Photo: John Minchillo/Associated Press

Mr. Manafort’s influence is being felt in Mr. Trump’s pocketbook. Having spent only about $40 million on the campaign over the last 10 months, mostly of his own money, the billionaire has committed to spending perhaps half that amount in the next two months, according to one person familiar with the campaign.

“I’ll spend what it takes,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump has scaled back his media appearances in recent days, and that will continue, he said. The new media strategy, said a senior adviser, is “to be less exposed and to control media impressions in order for the message to be more powerful.”


Wisconsin’s April 5 primary was the last in which Mr. Trump’s campaign was run by his seat-of-the-pants instincts. Since then, Mr. Trump hasn’t appeared on the Sunday-morning interview shows he dominated for months.

His time long was controlled by Mr. Lewandowski. That is changing as new aides come aboard. So far, the campaign still doesn’t employ a scheduler or a pollster, though polling firms are pitching their services.

In an early meeting, Mr. Manafort, the only one in the campaign team who calls Mr. Trump by his first name, told him he needed to “win smart and with purpose.” Mr. Trump has agreed to hiring a bigger and more professional staff.

There will be a new focus on winning not just statewide vote totals but also the vote in specific congressional districts, where most delegates are awarded. In the New York primary, Mr. Manafort picked the location of each rally for its importance in delegate selection.

Rick Wiley is among veteran political consultants recently brought onto the Donald Trump campaign team. Mr. Wiley previously led Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s short-lived campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Photo: Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images

Mr. Manafort is adding the type of political consultants Mr. Trump has in the past called a waste of money. Rick Wiley, who led Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s brief presidential campaign, joined the Trump team last week as political director. He is involved in trying to capture unbound delegates.

Mr. Manafort brought on Tim Clark, a longtime GOP strategist based in Sacramento, as California state director. Mr. Trump can’t reach the delegate target without a significant haul from California, where 172 are at stake on June 7.

One skeptic of the new approach is Katie Packer, leader of the Our Principles PAC, which wants the GOP to nominate someone else. She said Wednesday Mr. Trump’s assurances he can change his tone and style ring hollow. “The things that he has done and said speak to his character,” Ms. Packer said.

The campaign has healing work to do with Republican Party leaders, an effort Mr. Manafort pushed during meetings with Republican lawmakers this week. Still, Mr. Trump continues to complain the party has a “rigged” system of choosing delegates, and just this week, his campaign circulated a memo urging surrogates to attack the Republican National Committee for its rules.

Political pros aren’t the only ones who have urged Mr. Trump to shift the campaign’s approach. Son Donald Jr. said in a Tuesday interview that just as the family business adapts to “market conditions,” the campaign needed to adjust to “political realities” and prepare for a general election.

Write to Monica Langley at monica.langley@wsj.com and Reid J. Epstein at Reid.Epstein@wsj.com