INTERESTING: Donald Trump’s Delegate Manager Begins Employing Same Tactics He Used for Ronald Reagan in 1980. [archive]

“Manafort is a master of the game,” Stone said in an email. “Just as he forged a short term alliance between the Reagan and Bush forces to deny Howard Baker a Maine victory in 1980, he has just teamed with Kasich to shut Cruz out of Michigan.” . . .

Manafort is now convinced he’s going to be able to carry Trump over the top before the GOP convention in Cleveland in July.

“I’m confident, we have several ways through June 7th to go over 1,237,” Manafort said in an interview with Chuck Todd on Meet The Press this weekend. “And, you know, not counted in that at all are any of these unbound delegates who are getting selected, many of whom I feel pretty good about.” . . .

Trump’s children are backing Manafort, sources say, as well—since they have grown dissatisfied with lack of preparation under the structure put together by Lewandowski. One source said that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped write the billionaire’s widely-acclaimed AIPAC speech, is a major supporter of the Manafort takeover internally. Trump, that source said, is said to be very happy about the shutout of Cruz in Michigan and a recent uprising in Nevada.