Donald Trump came out of his meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan on top, conservative Wall Street Journal writer Peggy Noonan said in her latest column.
“It is good that Paul Ryan snapped out of his smug-seeming ‘I’m just not ready’ approach of last week, and met and talked with Mr. Trump this week,” she wrote Thursday night. “When a sitting Republican speaker of the House is cool on or considering rejecting that party’s presumptive presidential nominee, more is needed than, ‘I’m not there yet.'”
Trump and Ryan met in Washington privately on Thursday after weeks of publicly criticizing each other. Ryan had declined to endorse Trump for president, and Trump had suggested the two might “go our separate ways.”
After the meeting, however, Ryan said in a press conference that he was “encouraged” by their talks, and they released a joint statement saying they were “totally committed” to unifying the GOP.
“All of which strikes me as a Trump win,” wrote Noonan. “Mr. Ryan referred to his conservatism and suggested Mr. Trump holds political principles … Those who oppose Mr. Trump should do it seriously and with respect for his supporters. If he is not conservative, make your case and explain what conservatism is. No one at this point needs your snotty potshots or your supposedly withering one-liners.”
