WASHINGTON: US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, the nation’s top Republican, said Thursday he was not ready to support Donald Trump as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee in the November election.
“To be perfectly candid… I’m just not ready to do that at this point,” Ryan told CNN.
“I am not there right now,” Ryan went on. “I hope to though, and I want to. But I think what is required is that we unify this party.”
It was a stunning declaration expected to reverberate throughout the party’s establishment and its rank and file, amid swirling concerns over whether conservatives will be able to rally around Trump in his expected matchup against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Ryan, who repeated he would not seek or accept the nomination in the event of a contested convention, was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012 and is currently second in line to the presidency.
While his role as House Speaker may make him the quintessential symbol of the Washington establishment that Trump supporters have so passionately opposed, his very public doubts about the standard bearer could filter down to millions of voters.
“He’s got some work to do,” Ryan said, noting that “the bulk and the burden” was on Trump to begin the healing process after a brutal primary campaign and the brash billionaire’s long string of insulting remarks to other hopefuls he ultimately defeated, and to lots of other people.
“It’s time to set aside bullying. It’s time to set aside belittlement,” he said.
