Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says he’s not worried about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s reluctance to endorse him in his primary race.
Trump said earlier this week that he’s not quite there yet when it comes to supporting Ryan, who faces a primary challenge from Paul Nehlen. While Trump has drawn fire from the party for his comments, Ryan told WTAQ’s “The Jerry Bader Show” that his main concern right now is winning the support of voters. “The endorsements that I want are those of my own employers here in the First Congressional District,” Ryan said.
Ryan re-affirmed his support for Trump, saying he wants to respect the voters who nominated him. The Janesville Republican said it’s not a blank check though. “If I see a situation where our conservative principles are being distorted, I’m going to stand up for those,” he said. “If I see and hear things that I think are wrong, I’m not going to sit back and say nothing.”
Ryan proved that this week when he released a statement condemning Trump’s attack on a Gold Star family, which came after the parents of Captain Humayun Khan appeared at the Democratic National Convention to criticize the GOP nominee. Ryan said you do nothing but honor Gold Star families, and called Trump’s comments “beyond the pale.”
However, Ryan stopped short of saying where the line may be that gets him to pull his support from Trump. “I’m not going into the speculation or hypotheticals,” he said.
The Speaker did question why Trump is so focused on going after the Khan family, when it should be targeting Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. Ryan described Trump’s actions since the Republican National Convention two weeks ago as “pretty strange,” and said it’s distressing for the nominee not to be focusing on Clinton’s deficiencies.
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Green Bay Friday night. Ryan is not attending, citing plans to campaign in his own district. He’s one of several top Republicans in the state, along with Governor Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who will not be joining Trump at the stop.