In the days since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, many Republican lawmakers have hedged on whether or not they will support, endorse, or support but not endorse him. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) weighed in Thursday, telling CNN that he is not ready to support Trump.
Ryan, who will be the chairman of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this summer, has said many times that he will support whoever becomes the Republican nominee. But in a CNN interview Thursday, Ryan suggested that Trump does not currently embody the values of the Republican Party.
“To be perfectly candid with you, I’m not ready to do that yet,” Ryan said. “I am not there right now.”
Ryan continued, saying that Trump would have to unify the GOP in order to get his support.
“Saying that we’re unified does not, in and of itself, unify us. But actually taking the principles that we all believe in, showing that there’s a dedication to those, and running a principled campaign that Republicans can be proud about, and that can actually appeal to the majority of Americans,” he said. “That, to me, is what it takes to unify this party.”
When Tapper asked him specifically what Trump has done to brought him to the decision, Ryan was not ready to point to specific policies.
“If you’re looking back on the primary campaign, I think there are incidents and episodes that question,” he said, trailing off. “That is why at this point I’m not ready to jump in. But I hope we get there.”
The speaker has previously blasted Trump for refusing to disavow Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who most recently praised Trump for defeating “Jewish supremacists who control our country.”
In March, Ryan pushed Trump to “reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry” because “the Republican Party does not prey on people’s prejudices.”
Ryan is just the latest in a growing list of prominent conservatives who have said they will refuse to support or vote for Trump. Some, like a former aide to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have even gone so far as to say they would vote for Hillary Clinton.
Ryan was clear he did not agree with those members of his party. “No Republican should ever think about supporting Hillary Clinton, let me make that clear,” he told Tapper.