House Speaker Paul Ryan gave one of his strongest endorsements of Donald Trump on Thursday, after a reporter asked him if the candidate is qualified to serve as president.
“Donald Trump won the nomination,” Ryan said. “Having a business guy as president is not the worst idea in the world, I’ll say that.”
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As the polls shift in favor of Republican nominee Donald Trump, GOP lawmakers are getting more comfortable praising their nominee after months of having to denounce some of the things he has said on the campaign trail.
Democrats, meanwhile, are stepping up their criticism of Trump as he closes in on Clinton in national and battleground state polls. The RealClearPolitics average shows the two candidates in a statistical tie nationally.
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said earlier this week that Trump “appeals to the worst and basest instincts of people,” and “ought to be rejected out of hand.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Thursday called Trump “a leech who will bleed America dry.”
