Senior GOP officials and aides to Donald Trump said Sunday that they are working to repair months of discord between the campaign and the Republican National Committee as they prepare for the fall race.
They said the campaign would bring a senior GOP strategist into Trump's New York headquarters several days a week, and the RNC would increase sharing of political data and fundraising strategies.
The moves come after a dramatic shake-up of Trump's top management team last week, which followed weeks of falling polls and gaffes that largely overshadowed the GOP nominee's campaign efforts.
Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman, insisted that Trump would catch up to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, "as we move through September."
"Donald Trump has been disciplined and mature," he said on ABC's "This Week." "And I think he's going to get this thing back on track."
Kellyanne Conway, who Trump hired last week as his new campaign manager, insisted that the campaign was already back on track.
“We had a great week, the best week so far,” Conway said on the same show, citing the airing of Trump's first TV ads, his appearance in flood-ravaged Louisiana and his attempts to reach out to black and Latino voters.
"He's able to be himself, the authentic Donald Trump," she said, and "the pivot that he's made is on substance."
She said the RNC's chief strategist, Sean Spicer, will spend several days a week at Trump’s New York headquarters to help coordinate between the two operations.
Although Trump has insisted in the past that he does not prepare for debates, Conway said they had begun "debate prep" for his three expected debates this fall with Clinton.
"We're doing that in many different ways," she said. "But he's very engaged with that. It's actually a very enjoyable pursuit for him."
Conway said the campaign's goal is to move the focus of attention off Trump's temperament and personality and onto Clinton's plans for immigration reform, healthcare and the economy.
"The Hillary people want this to all be about tone and temperament," she said. "We also want it to be about facts and figures."
Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, who appeared on the same show, disputed that Trump had changed or made a pivot, saying even Trump had denied that.
Mook also argued that Trump should publicly account for his financial ties to Russia and his repeated praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"There are real questions being raised about whether Donald Trump himself is just a puppet for the Kremlin in this race," Mook said.
