These were Ryan’s first public remarks about the front-runner since Trump’s last two Republican rivals withdrew, making him the presumptive GOP nominee. “I hope to though, and I want to”. Ryan’s move gives them some cover.
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“I’m just not ready to do that at this point”, he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. Trump ignored the rebukes during a Thursday night appearance in Charleston, West Virginia, addressing Ryan’s decision only in a written statement issued earlier in the day. “I hope to, though, and I want to, but I think what is required is that we unify this party”.
The Wisconsin Republican signaled he would eventually like to support Trump, who became the GOP’s likely White House nominee this week after both Texas Sen.
But Thursday’s comments were all the more startling because Mr Trump has now emerged as the party’s standardbearer and Mr Ryan, as speaker of the House of Representatives, will oversee the Republican presidential nominating convention in July. Meanwhile, Ryan is positioning himself to play a central role in helping to protect vulnerable House and Senate candidates heading into the general election.
“The bulk of the burden on unifying the party will have to come from our presumptive nominee”, Ryan said. Trump is now poised to accept the GOP’s nomination, and Ryan is scrambling because he knows what everyone else knows: “Donald Trump is toxic for his own reputation, and for House Republicans”.
Trump says he’s meeting with Ryan next week, possibly on Wednesday.
Ryan made clear he won’t be supporting Hillary Clinton and that he wants to come around to backing Trump. Last year, Ryan blasted Trump’s controversial ban on Muslims entering the US, saying that “is not what this party stands for”. On the other hand, it’d be exceptionally awkward and basically unprecedented for a major congressional leader to not endorse the party’s presidential nominee – especially when there’s really no third-party option he can endorse instead.
“We have a monumental task in November and we need to be on the same page and we need to have all our direction and focus toward winning”, said the Committee Chairman, John Skipper.
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Now that Trump is the presumptive nominee, Romney took a more resigned tone.
