House Speaker Paul Ryan believes presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump will at least try to moderate his tone and behavior in the last few months of the presidential campaign.
“I believe he’s going to endeavor to try,” the Wisconsin Republican told NPR of Trump’s rhetoric in an interview filmed Thursday and released Friday morning.
“I just think improving temperaments and inclusive rhetoric, and an agenda that invites people into our party is something that I think anybody going from a primary to a general election needs a transition,” he said.
Trump’s rhetoric has been one that has alienated many, including minority voters. For example, he has said some Latino immigrants are “criminals” and “rapists.” He has also called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States.
Many in the GOP have avoided supporting Trump, including Ryan at first. However, on June 2, Ryan said he would vote for the presumed GOP nominee, even as he made it clear Trump has some work to do.
But when asked if he believes Trump would be a good president “standing on his own” if presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton were taken “out of the equation,” Ryan dodged.
“That’s not the question we have in front of us,” he replied. “We have a binary choice. It’s either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. That’s not the question we’re facing.”
Ryan called the question a hypothetical he didn’t want to answer. He eventually said he supports Trump over Clinton because that’s what the choice is. “I do believe that Donald Trump will be a far better president than Hillary Clinton,” he said.
“I think Donald Trump will pick better Supreme Court justices, I think Donald Trump will sign better legislation into law that gets our country on a better path than Hillary Clinton,” he said.
