Aide: Trump will work with Ryan when he’s reelected
A senior Donald Trump adviser says Trump can work with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in the future, even though the businessman declined to endorse Ryan before his primary.
“When Paul Ryan is renominated in his party next week and when he is reelected in the fall and reelected as Speaker of the House, President Trump will work with him,” Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s “At This Hour” on Wednesday.
{mosads}”What I think he’ll do is work very closely as President Trump with Speaker Ryan,” she reiterated later on, saying there had been a “very good relationship” between their offices.
Trump’s decision not to endorse Ryan on Tuesday sent political ripples across the GOP, casting doubt on party unity just weeks after the Republican National Convention was carefully crafted to project harmony.
Conway denied that Trump’s snub was “payback” for Ryan saying in May he wasn’t ready to endorse Trump. She said Trump made a “clever play on words” using similar words to Ryan’s phrasing in May.
“That’s classic Donald Trump,” she said. “Payback would be endorsing the opponent and actively campaigning for him like a lot of folks [outside the campaign] have urged him to.”
Trump earlier this week praised Ryan’s primary opponent, businessman Paul Nehlen, on Twitter.
Nehlen on Wednesday told CNN he hasn’t had any contact with Trump’s campaign outside of the tweet, which was shared in response to a letter he sent to Trump.
“I haven’t asked for his endorsement at all, no,” he said. “If he gave his endorsement, I would be flattered by it, I would be humbled by it.
“But the last thing I’d want was for him to screw up the presidential race,” Nehlen added.
Trump has struggled to stay on message in recent days, feuding with the parents of a fallen soldier and stoking concern about his relationship with Russia.
“Campaigns have ebbs and flows,” Conway told CNN.
When asked whether the past few days have been an ebb or a flow, she pointed to the campaign’s $80 million fundraising announcement, saying the campaign was “very happy” about it.
She said Trump’s campaign would “like more complete coverage” and “we also would love more coverage of Hillary Clinton.”
“That’s part of the frustration internally,” Conway said, noting that several top Democratic National Committee officials were forced to step down this week amid a scandal caused by leaked internal emails.
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