WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary rebuke of the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, the nation’s highest-ranking GOP official, said Thursday that he could not support Donald Trump until he changes his tone and demonstrates that he shares the party’s values.
While acknowledging that Trump has mobilized a powerful grassroots movement and earned the nomination, Ryan said that Trump has not shown himself to be “a standard-bearer who bears our standard” — and he put the onus on the business mogul to recalibrate his campaign and offer a more inclusive vision.
Asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper whether he backs Trump, Ryan responded: “I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now. And I hope to, though, and I want to. But I think what is required is that we unify the party. And I think the bulk of the burden on unifying the party will have to come from our presumptive nominee.”
“This is the party of Lincoln, of Reagan, of Jack Kemp. And we don’t always nominate a Lincoln and a Reagan every four years, but we hope that our nominee aspires to be Lincoln- and Reagan-esque,” Ryan said, adding that he hopes the candidate “advances the principles of our party and appeals to a wide, vast majority of Americans.”
Ryan’s comments, which came as a surprise to some close allies, deepened the divide in a party now facing a painful reckoning about Trump. The GOP’s only two living presidents — George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush — said they would not endorse him, while its past two nominees — Mitt Romney and John McCain — said they did not plan to attend Trump’s nominating convention this summer in Cleveland. McCain, however, said he would support Trump.
Trump was defiant in his response to Ryan, offering a firm defense of his candidacy and asserting that he has a mandate from Republican voters.
“I am not ready to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda,” Trump said in a statement. “Perhaps in the future we can work together and come to an agreement about what is best for the American people.”
