GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – In an effort to fix some of the damage he had inflicted on his presidential campaign, Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan to end a four-day standoff that exposed the deeps chasms in the Republican Party over his candidacy.
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Under apparent huge pressure from RNC chair Reince Priebus and others, GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan in his re-election bid.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
During an interview with The Washington Post earlier this week, Trump said that he was “just not quite there yet” on endorsing Ryan.
“I need a Republican Senate and a House to accomplish all the changes we have to make”, added Trump, who also said “my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy”, a phrase often attributed to Ronald Reagan.
“I’m not quite there yet”, Trump said in the interview, using nearly identical language as Ryan in May while still hedging on endorsing the real estate mogul. “I’m not quite there yet”.
“Arm in arm, we will rescue the country from the Obama-Clinton disaster”, Trump told supporters after formally declaring his support for Ryan in next week’s congressional primary.
Ryan’s team appeared unaware Friday afternoon about the imminent endorsement as early news reports that Trump was considering doing so began circulating.
Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, also broke with the bombastic billionaire over supporting Ryan.
He also endorsed Sen McCain and New Hampshire Sen Kelly Ayotte.
“I’m just not ready to do that at this point”, Mr Ryan told CNN in May. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who he heaped scorn on during the Post interview.
“She is a rising star and will continue to represent the great people of New Hampshire so very well for a long, long time”.
Trump has said positive things about aspects of Ryan’s agenda, like the poverty plank, but still has not explicitly offered his commitment to helping House Republicans implement it in 2017.
Nehlen played the endorsement well, not alientating Trump voters while bowing to the inevitable.
Ryan faces off against Republican Paul Nehlen in his primary Tuesday. Instead, he acknowledged that while he and the Ryan “may disagree on a couple of things”, the Speaker is ultimately “a good man” and “a good guy”. He also called Ayotte “weak” and claimed to be beating her in polls, although the two are not competing and the senator has higher favorable numbers than Trump. Ryan has criticized or differed with Trump publicly on several occasions while continuing to support him.
Trump said Wednesday he saw video showing the money being delivered.
However the rocky path towards GOP unity plays out, Trump will have to win over Wisconsin’s Republicans to win the state. “It’s going to be an all-encompassing look at how we reform the economy”, Moore said.
“He was a war hero because he was captured”, Trump said.
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Both Trump and Ryan were at odds as they shared different opinions on various issues.
