“We will have disagreements, but we will disagree as friends, and we will never stop working together toward victory”.
Advertisement
Ryan said he “rejects” any religious test for entering the country – a clear jab at one of Trump’s evolving immigration proposals – and that “Captain Khan was one such courageous example” of Muslim-Americans who have “served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice”. Days after causing a ruckus by saying he was “not quite there yet” in regard to endorsing the House speaker in his primary fight, Trump declared himself in Ryan’s corner.
John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, both of whom he also had pointedly declined to endorse in recent interviews.
Mr Trump shocked party members on Tuesday when he refused to endorse Mr Ryan and Senator John McCain in their campaigns for re-election in November. Ryan eventually endorsed Trump in June, writing in an op-ed: “It’s no secret that he and I have our differences”.
Ryan, who withheld his own endorsement of Trump for weeks after Trump had clinched the party’s nomination, deflected Sykes’ questions about whether he might withdraw that support. But in neighboring Wisconsin, a state Trump insists he can win, the state’s best-known Republicans said they were too busy to attend an evening event. “We need very, very strong leadership, and I’m just not quite there yet”.
He also praised Mr Ryan’s opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign”.
An aide to Ryan later said that the speaker “appreciates the gesture and is going to continue to focus on earning the endorsement of the voters in Southern Wisconsin”.
Neither Ryan nor Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, showed up for Trump’s Green Bay event. “I understand and embrace the wisdom of Ronald Reagan’s big tent within the party”, Trump said. “Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire”, he continued.
In Wisconsin, Trump added, “She’s a monster”.
“We may disagree on a couple of things but mostly we agree”, he added. “We need that. We gotta get things done”. The primary for Ryan’s House seat is next week and Ayotte’s primary is next month. I know she’s given me no support – zero support – and yet I’m leading her in the polls.
Trump’s sniping came during a week of plummeting poll numbers that have put even some solidly Republican states, such as Georgia, in play. “But I will do this because I feel I have to in order to defend Republicans and our principles so that people don’t make the mistake of thinking we think like that”.
Advertisement
Ryan reiterated his support for Trump hours before the endorsement, but the Wisconsin Republican noted his support wasn’t a “blank check” and pledged to speak out against the businessman’s divisive positions if necessary.
