Donald Trump and Paul Ryan said on Thursday that their meeting left them "totally committed" to working together, though the two did not agree on an endorsement or chair for the Republican convention.
"We had a great conversation this morning," the
two said in a joint statement. "While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there
are also many important areas of common ground."
Ryan, the House speaker and de facto leader of the so-called
establishment wing of the GOP,
said he wanted to get to know Trump better as he sought a
unified front going into November's
election. When it comes to beating Democratic front-runner
Hillary Clinton "the stakes could not
be higher," Ryan said in a news conference following
the meeting.
"I was very encouraged by what I heard from Donald
Trump today," Ryan said. "I do believe that
we are now planting the seeds to get ourselves unified, to
bridge the gaps and differences."
Topics of the meeting included Article One of the
Constitution, separation of powers in the
executive branch, the Supreme Court and the pro-life
perspective, Ryan said.
"It was important that we discuss our differences that
we have, but it was also important that we
discussed the core principles that tie us all
together," Ryan said.
In past weeks, Ryan had said he's not ready to support
Trump's run for the White House, while
Trump refused to rule out blocking Ryan from serving as
chairman of the GOP convention in
July. Ryan, in turn, said he would step down as chairman if
Trump requested him to do so.
When asked Thursday if he was now endorsing the presumptive
GOP presidential candidate,
Ryan said the meeting was encouraging, but it was important
to take more than 45 minutes and
not "fake" unification of the party. Ryan also
said Trump expressed interest in seeing Ryan chair
the convention, and that he would be willing to do so if
Trump asked.
"I want to make sure we really truly understand each
other," Ryan said.
The pair will be having additional meetings, but called
Thursday's talk at Republican Party
headquarters in Washington a "very positive step"
toward unification.
"I represent a wing of the conservative party, you
could say," Ryan said. "[Trump]'s bringing a
whole new wing to it. He's bringing voters we've never had
for decades. That's a positive thing.
The point, though, is can we agree on the common core
principles that unite all of us?"
Still, while Ryan said he is concerned about the party
adding voters without subtracting any, he
called Trump a "warm and genuine person" who had
seen "unparalleled" success in the primary
race.
"He has gotten more voters than any Republican primary
nominee, in the history of our country
and this isn't even over yet. He hasn't even gone to
California yet," Ryan said. "It's really a
remarkable achievement."
However, Ryan's reluctance to say he is supporting Trump is
a key indicator, said John Harwood
on "Closing Bell."
"If the Republicans repudiate their nominee, or if a
large number of them do, that hurts the entire
ticket," he said. "On the other hand, if they get
to close to Donald Trump, given how polarizing he
is with Latinos, with women and some other constituencies,
that means danger for Republican
members in swing states."
In addition, close support for Trump could hurt Ryan's
chances of having the party united behind
him if he decides to run for president in 2020, he said.
"There is no conventional wisdom that applies to this
race at all," said former New Hampshire
Sen. Judd Gregg, on "Closing Bell." "[Paul
Ryan] is trying to be sort of a buffer between Donald
Trump and his rank-and-file members who have to run for
re-election."
He called this process of keeping Trump's bombastic behavior
and ideas in check as "a really delicate dance."
"I think there's a long way to go before we develop a
scenario where Paul Ryan is comfortable
putting his membership at risk by saying they're 100 percent
behind Donald Trump," Gregg said.
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