Subject: BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump endorses Paul Ryan
From: "POLITICO" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2016 18:26:07 -0600

Republican nominee Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan at his Friday night rally in Green Bay, just days after withholding his support for Ryan in his primary.

"In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House Paul Ryan," Trump said.

Ryan is expected to easily defeat his challenger, Paul Nehlen, but Trump's hesitation to endorse the GOP's top member of Congress raised new concerns as the Republican Party looked to project a unified front following the Republican National Convention.

In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was "not quite there yet" in supporting Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain in their respective primaries. 

"I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," Trump told the Post. "We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet."

The lack of an endorsement came a day after he thanked Ryan's primary opponent on Twitter for his "kind words." 

In a statement released in anticipation of Trump's announcement Friday, Nehlen praised Trump's leadership in backing the House speaker while reiterating that the nominee's early skepticism "sent a clear signal to Wisconsin voters that Ryan is not his preferred candidate in this race."

"Given his stature as our party's official nominee, Mr. Trump's decision to support the Republican Speaker is appropriate and is a display of true leadership," Nehlen wrote. "Unlike Speaker Ryan, Mr. Trump has made clear that this election is not about himself and is not about advancing his own personal agenda."

The Trump campaign had claimed earlier this week that its policy was not to endorse in Republican primaries, even though he had previously endorsed North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers, who lost her seat in June to Rep. George Holding after her district was redrawn. Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has also endorsed Ryan.

Ryan, meanwhile, endorsed Trump as the Republican nominee in June, but the two haven't always seen eye-to-eye. Ryan and many other top Republican leaders pushed back as Trump feuded with the parents of a Muslim Army captain killed in Iraq. Ryan said the family's sacrifice should always be honored.

Earlier on Friday, Ryan said his endorsement of Trump was not a "blank check" and that there was "of course" a point at which he could rescind his support, though he did not specify what that point might be. He added that he has not spoken to Trump since the convention and has no current plans to do so.

"I did say very clearly, privately and publicly, that if I hear things that I think distort conservatism, that disfigure our principles and our values as Republicans, I'm going to speak out and defend ourselves so that people in this country don't get a mixed perception about who we are and what we believe in," Ryan said in a radio interview in Milwaukee. "And I've had to do that from time to time, more than I certainly wanted to, like attacking Gold Star parents. So obviously, I've done that and I'm going to continue to do that if necessary. Where that line gets crossed, I don't know where that is, if that is."

Ryan, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson were not expected to attend Trump's Green Bay rally, citing other obligations.

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