House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that unifying the Republican Party around presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump won’t be easy, and “is going to take some work.”
Ryan, R-Wis., is planning to meet with Trump Thursday morning. He huddled with his own GOP rank-and-file Wednesday morning, and told them he was in no rush to endorse Trump, but would instead seek assurances that Trump’s presidential platform won’t abandon GOP conservative principles.
“We have a process,” Ryan told reporters after the meeting. “We are just getting started.”
Ryan pointed to the long and divisive GOP primary that ended last week, when Sen. Ted Cruz, the choice of many conservatives, suspended his campaign after losing to Trump in the Indiana primary.
He said simply acting as if the GOP is unified after a “bruising” primary would only weaken the party. “We need a real unification of our party,” he said. “After a tough primary, that is going to take some real effort.”
Lawmakers in the private meeting with Ryan said they agreed with the Wisconsin lawmaker’s plan to withhold an immediate endorsement of Trump, who has shifted his positions on key conservative issues.
“There are some basic foundational issues the speaker is hopefully going to bring up,” Rep Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas., one of the most conservative members of the conference.
Among the trouble spots for Trump is his wavering position on abortion, Huelskamp said. “We are the pro-life party and I fear Donald Trump doesn’t believe in that.”
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who dropped his own presidential bid and now endorses Trump, phoned Ryan last night in an effort to find a path to unification.
Ryan praised Carson for trying to play “a constructive role,” in bringing all sides together.
But the party isn’t there yet, Ryan said.
“We just finished one of the most grueling primaries in modern history,” Ryan reiterated. “This is going to take some work.”
