USA presidential candidate Donald Trump has publicly backed House Speaker Paul Ryan days after snubbing him in a spat at the top of the Republican Party.
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Mr Trump this week refused to endorse Ryan when he told The Washington Post he was “not quite there yet” – using the same phrase Mr Ryan had used about Mr Trump before finally endorsing him.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this week on Tuesday, Trump said of withholding his endorsement, “I’m only thinking about it, I mean I’ve, you know, never been a big fan of John McCain”. “As president I will need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes I want to make”. “We don’t need a weak person”.
“I am just going to rise above this stuff”, he said. “I’m not quite there yet”, Trump said at the time.
He repeatedly told Wisconsin radio stations in recent days that he’s only seeking endorsements from the voters in his district, and a Ryan aide said he hadn’t received word as of early Friday afternoon of Trump’s plans. “John McCain”, Trump said.
“If Hillary Clinton becomes president”, he said at a rally in Iowa, “you will have really, in my opinion, the destruction of this country from within”.
None of the state’s top Republicans attended Trump’s rally, as Speaker Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and Sen.
By his side was running mate Mike Pence, who praised Trump’s off-the-cuff style that’s found the campaign in trouble. If Trump does something out of line, Ryan says he could withdraw his endorsement.
What the Republican Party just had Trump do was the exact opposite of what they needed. Trump, who has lower favorability numbers than Ryan in the state, according to the Marquette poll, is likely switching his tune on Ryan to help his improve his chances in Wisconsin. “We will work to ensure both chambers of Congress remain in Republican hands, continuing to protect against executive overreach regardless of who wins the election this November”. Reading from a sheet of paper, Trump endorsed not only Ryan and McCain, but also embattled Sen.
After talking about McCain, Trump endorsed Ayotte.
“Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. Trump, but let’s get something straight”, Wisconsin’s Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wrote in an open letter to his GOP colleagues ahead of Trump’s arrival.
“In one way, she’s a monster”, he said in Wisconsin.
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Ryan is widely expected to win his primary contest in a landslide this year, but his opponent, businessman Paul Nehlen, has adopted elements of Trump’s message and tone, and shares numerous same support from the fringes of the Republican party.
