Prepared texts joining other changes in Trump’s campaign

The latest reboot of Donald Trump’s campaign comes with a script.

Following another staff shake- up, Trump has taken to reading prepared speeches from teleprompters at his mass rallies, seeking to reach beyond his political base and reduce the incendiary offthe- cuff comments that have side- tracked previous efforts.

While backers said a more disciplined style will help Trump rally against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, critics said it’s probably too late for the Republican nominee, who trails by large margins in several key states.

“The pivot that he’s made is on substance,” newly minted Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Sunday on ABC’s This Week, noting that the GOP candidate is devoting his new stump speech to issues such as law en- forcement, middle class tax relief and “defeating radical Islamic terrorism.”

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, appearing on CBS’ Face The Nation, said Trump is now focused and consistent, and “if he continues down this path” he will close the gap with Clinton.

The Clinton campaign said that, as with previous iterations, there’s no “new Trump.” “They can make him read new words from a teleprompter,” Clinton told supporters last week, “but he is still the same man who insults Gold Star families, demeans women, mocks people with disabilities and thinks he knows more about ISIS than our generals.”

The new approach surfaced as Trump announced Wednesday that Conway, a veteran Republican pollster and strategist, would become his campaign manager, while Stephen K. Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News, would be campaign CEO. Two days later, Trump said campaign chairman Paul Manafort would be departing.