US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan says Republican lawmakers should follow their conscience in deciding whether or not to support Republican US presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
The Wisconsin Republican told NBC’s Meet the Press that “the last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that’s contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn’t do that.”
Ryan, who has given a tepid endorsement to Trump, said he understands he is in a “very strange situation” to be supporting the party’s presumptive nominee while not urging his fellow lawmakers to follow suit, but he said Trump is “a very unique nominee.”
Ryan is the highest elected Republican official and the official chairman of the Republican convention next month. He stunned the political world in May when he held back his endorsement of Trump before grudgingly offering his support earlier this month.
Since then, Ryan has been critical of Trump, calling the candidate’s complaints about the impartiality of a judge of Mexican heritage a “textbook definition of a racist comment” and reiterating his opposition to Trump’s proposal to temporarily ban all foreign Muslims from entering the US.
As speaker of the House, Ryan said he feels a responsibility not to lead “some chasm in the middle of our party” that would hurt Republican party’s chances to win the White House. His reluctance to embrace the party’s nominee wholeheartedly is remarkable for a Republican who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012.
Ryan was interviewed on Thursday for today’s Meet the Press. An excerpt was released on Friday.
Trump, speaking on Friday at a packed convention center in The Woodlands, Texas, not far from Houston, tried to play down the rift in the party and bragged about the money he has raised in fundraisers across the state over the last two days, including an event on Friday in San Antonio.
“The party is doing very well,” he said, insisting that reports of a party revolt were overblown. “The party is actually liking me. You know, ... I’m an outsider and historically they don’t love the outsiders, but I think they’re starting to like me.”
Trump added: “You don’t hear about the tremendous numbers of people — and I’m even talking about the politicians — that are totally supportive. If one person raises a little question, it’s like, ‘Oh, did you hear?’ Let me tell you folks, we have tremendous support. Tremendous. But the biggest support of all by far: right here. I’m the messenger.”
Ryan told reporters at a news conference on Thursday that he would continue to speak out in defense of conservative principles, despite a warning from Trump that Republican congressional leaders should “be quiet.”
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