New Trump Campaign Manager: We’ll Sharpen Message But ‘Let Him Be Him’

Donald Trump’s new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway said Thursday morning that she still wants Trump to be himself, but that the campaign plans on having the nominee focus more on substance.

“I think we’re going to sharpen the message. And we’re going to make sure Donald Trump is comfortable about being in his own skin, that he doesn’t lose that authenticity that you simply can’t buy and a pollster can’t give you. Voters know if you’re comfortable in your own skin. Let him be him in this sense,” Conway said on CNN’s “New Day” when asked how she will run the Trump campaign differently.

“He wants to deliver the speech, if he wants to go to a rally, if he wants to connect with the crowd in a way that’s very spontaneous, that’s wonderful. And that’s how he got here. That’s how he became the nominee in large part,” she continued. “But at the same time, we have some really serious, pressing problems in this country that I’m hoping will start to be addressed more by the media. He’s going to give these policy speeches.”

Conway told CNN that she would like voters to see “the benefit of his leadership.”

“He scores very well in strong leader. That’s what so many Americans are starving for. And when he delivers a speech in his own words, in his own delivery system, then people can actually focus on the content. I think that’s what’s so important,” she said.

And when asked about Trump’s big slip in the polls, Conway said, “I think it helps us to be a little bit behind, and we are. It lights a fire under us, and it reminds us what we need to do to get this done.”

The Trump campaign announced a shake-up Wednesday morning, promoting Conway to campaign manager and hiring Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon as the campaign’s CEO. The shake-up also reportedly diminishes campaign Chair Paul Manafort’s role.