Is this a head fake, or is Preibus being candidly honest here?
It would be a lot more convincing if he said flat out that no shenanigans of any type will be allowed, which could rob the people of their choice of nominee.
I suspect some of the rank and file Republicans in Congress are voicing their concern to Preibus of how destructive an ‘Anybody but Trump’ candidate would be to their reelection prospects. They may not love the idea of a Trump candidacy, but they know that stealing it from him at the convention would be suicidal, and they would feel the brunt of voter anger with a massive rejection of the GOP at the ballot box this November. The self-preservation instinct is kicking in for them. Trump’s back channel discussions with GOP members of Congress is probably helping them to understand this.