House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that he’s not ready to support Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
“Well, to be perfectly candid with you, Jake, I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now, and I hope to though, and I want to,” Ryan said to CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“But I think what is required is that we unify this party. And I think the bulk of the burden on unifying the party will have to come from our presumptive nominee.”
Like many other conservatives, Ryan warned that many Republicans aren’t quite ready to accept a nominee like Trump, whose past indicates more liberal leanings.
“I think what a lot of Republicans want to see is that we have a standard-bearer that bears our standards and that unifies all the wings of the Republican Party,” he said.
Ryan’s comments are potentially a major hurdle for Trump to overcome, and a sign that many establishment Republicans aren’t ready to commit to the candidate who easily defeated more than a dozen other candidates.
But Ryan indicated that he’s willing to get to the point where he can support the controversial candidate. He said he wants Trump to work harder to bring together “all wings” of the party.
“And we’ve got a ways to go from here to there,” Ryan said.
When asked if Trump would be able to work with Republicans and win the support of Ryan and others, he said, “I think it’s possible.”
