Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan late Friday, ending a four-day standoff between the GOP’s most powerful men that exposed deepening concerns about the NY billionaire’s presidential candidacy. “But we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory”.
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Trump, whose candidacy has been marked by frequent attacks on Republican leadership, changed his tune from just days earlier.
Despite endorsing Ryan, Trump on Monday used his Twitter feed to acknowledge support from Nehlen, who is driving around Wisconsin in a yellow dump truck with a sign that reads “Dump Paul Ryan”.
Ryan himself said he hasn’t spoken to Trump since the GOP convention, has no plans to, and has no idea whether their differences are going to persevere through the campaign.
Ryan predicts voters will reject Paul Nehlen, a businessman and political newcomer who’s benefited in recent days from Donald Trump’s praise and refusal to endorse Ryan. On Saturday he is holding two rallies with conservative columnist Ann Coulter in Janesville and Kenosha and now has the support of Diamond and Silk, conservative black YouTube celebrities who have backed Trump.
Asked later by radio host Charlie Sykes whether there was something sufficiently disturbing that Trump could do to make Ryan rescind his endorsement of the GOP nominee, Ryan responded: “With any endorsement of anybody, there’s never a blank check”. The fact that Nehlen has achieved that-and put Ryan on his heels politically-has shocked the political establishment around the country. “She is a rising star and will continue to represent the great people of New Hampshire so very well for a very long time”.
On Thursday, Ryan left the door to rescinding his endorsement of Trump, which he originally made in June, just hours after promising to speak out against the sort of Islamophobia Trump has been peddling throughout his campaign. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos offered a blunt message ahead of the presidential nominee’s arrival: “We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans”.
However, in refusing to endorse Ryan, Trump was seen as thumbing his nose at Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee and a leader who has gone out of his way to ensure that party elders treat Trump as a legitimate nominee. He said, “I’m suggesting we have a discussion about it, that’s for sure”.
“We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans”, he added pointedly. The feud has overshadowed Trump’s criticism of Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump is making a rare admission he was wrong – in claiming he saw a video of a USA cash payment going to Iran.
The New York billionaire has cited a $400 million payment the US made to Iran this year, delivered on the same day that Iran released four American hostages.
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Trump tweeted Friday that “The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!”
