If they’re going to win going forward, they better.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump agreed grudgingly Friday to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan to work out their differences in the midst of an extraordinary display of Republican vs. Republican strife. But he said he had “no idea” if they would succeed and it didn’t really matter that much to him when compared to all the votes he’d won in this year’s primary elections.
“The thing that matters most are the millions of people that have come out to vote for me and give me a landslide victory in almost every state,” Trump said moments after Ryan, the nation’s highest-ranking Republican officeholder, announced their planned meeting.
Ryan said that the meeting would occur next Thursday and that Trump also would meet with other House GOP leaders. Discussions will center on “the kind of Republican principles and ideas that can win the support of the American people this November,” Ryan said.
The unlikely back-and-forth came a day after Ryan injected new uncertainty into the turbulent presidential contest by refusing, for now, to endorse Trump. Aides said that, far from seeking to helm an anti-Trump movement, Ryan hopes to exert a positive influence for the general election campaign after a nominating contest that has alienated women, minorities and other voter groups.