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| Trump and Ryan: meeting was a 'very positive step' toward GOP unity – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.43pm BST | |
| 16:43 | |
| Ryan on Trump's Muslim ban: 'I'm not interested in litigating the past' | |
| Ryan is asked whether he can get behind Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim migrants and the deportation of undocumented migrants. | |
| Ryan downplays the importance of any differences the two may have on the issue. | |
| “We will have policy disputes,” Ryan says. “I’m not interested in litigating the past. I’m interested in going forward.” | |
| “I represent a wing of the conservative party – he’s bringing a whole new wing. That’s a positive thing.” | |
| Ryan says that the two shared a “positive vision based on core principles.” | |
| The principles include that a Clinton presidency “would be a disaster.” | |
| 4.40pm BST | |
| 16:40 | |
| Ryan: 'happy to serve as chair' of convention | |
| Ryan says that after meeting Trump he is happy to serve as chairman of the national convention if Trump wanted him to. | |
| Earlier Ryan had said he was willing to step down in the role if Trump wanted. | |
| “I thought he was a very good personality. He was a very warm... gentleman. .. I actually had a very pleasant exchange with him.” | |
| 4.37pm BST | |
| 16:37 | |
| Ryan: 'I was very encouraged' | |
| Ryan says “it’s no secret that Donald Trump and I have had our differences, and we talked about those differences today” but “I was very encouraged” by the meeting. | |
| “It’s very important that we don’t fake unifying... so that we are full strength in the fall,” he says. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.38pm BST | |
| 4.33pm BST | |
| 16:33 | |
| Paul Ryan is speaking. He’s talking about legislation to fight the opioid addiction epidemic. Expected to take questions about Trump. Watch live here: | |
| 4.30pm BST | |
| 16:30 | |
| Priebus: meeting 'went as well as I'd hoped' | |
| Reince Priebus, the RNC chair, is talking with CNN about the Trump-Ryan meeting, which he said was “positive, it was give-and-take” and “it went as well as I’d hoped.” He said the two shared great chemistry. | |
| CNN’s Dana Bash asked him whether he felt like a couple’s therapist. He said she wouldn’t have asked that if she’d been in the room because the participants did not feel like a couple in a spat. | |
| Bash asked him whether a Paul Ryan endorsement of Donald Trump is in the offing. He said it was “a good first step.” | |
| 4.28pm BST | |
| 16:28 | |
| The Republican dominoes are falling for Trump. The party is coalescing behind the nominee. | |
| Representative Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, releases a statement of support for Trump simultaneous to the Trump-Ryan statement of “common ground”. | |
| It’s looking like Trump came to DC less to negotiate than to tour town a bit, pick up some political chits, nod his chin at the Washington Monument and jet the heck out of there. | |
| “While I may disagree with the rhetoric Mr Trump uses and some policy positions, he is the better option than Hillary Clinton,” Walden says. | |
| NRCC Chairman Greg Walden’s Statement on Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/1Fn5rW3u3n | |
| 4.19pm BST | |
| 16:19 | |
| Here’s the Ryan-Trump statement in bigger font: | |
| Joint statement from Paul Ryan and Donald Trump after their meeting this morning pic.twitter.com/lbICLKVQil | |
| And reactions: | |
| I don't see any way to read that statement without concluding that Paul Ryan will spend the rest of 2016 on Team Trump. | |
| "I disagree with our nominee on his disparaging remarks about every demographic and can't fathom what his positions are. But I support him." | |
| We’re not sure the statement evinces such a tone of strained harmony as this analogy implies: | |
| This is like a post-summit statement from U.S.-Soviet Union during the Cold War. For the good of world peace, we will get along. | |
| Ryan downgraded from #NotYetTrump to #ProbablyTrump | |
| No mention of "making America great again" in Trump-Ryan statement .... | |
| Is “totally committed” to working to unify the party the same as a “full and frank exchange of views”? Or something more? | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.23pm BST | |
| 4.15pm BST | |
| 16:15 | |
| Ryan-Trump statement: 'we are totally committed to working together' | |
| The Ryan-Trump statement does not go so far as to say that Ryan now endorses Trump, and alludes to a remaining “few differences” between the two. | |
| But they are “totally committed to working together” to winning the presidential election – which would seem rather hard if Ryan did not support Trump in a manner distinguishable from an endorsement in no meaningful way? | |
| 4.11pm BST | |
| 16:11 | |
| Ryan-Trump statement hails 'very positive step' | |
| A joint statement from Paul Ryan and Donald Trump hails a “very positive step toward unification” after their meeting. | |
| “We had a great conversation this morning,” the statement says. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground.” | |
| We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal. .... | |
| This was our first meeting, but it was a very positive step toward unification. | |
| NEW: Joint statement from Paul Ryan and Donald Trump call meeting "a very positive step toward unification" pic.twitter.com/oExZIMl5PQ | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.12pm BST | |
| 4.03pm BST | 4.03pm BST |
| 16:03 | 16:03 |
| Trump’s on his way to meet the Senate. | Trump’s on his way to meet the Senate. |
| Trump motorcade heading to the Senate side pic.twitter.com/g2ZzXBGHz9 | Trump motorcade heading to the Senate side pic.twitter.com/g2ZzXBGHz9 |
| Minority leader Harry Reid took the senate floor this morning and tweaked the Republican leadership for embracing Trump, reported Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call: | Minority leader Harry Reid took the senate floor this morning and tweaked the Republican leadership for embracing Trump, reported Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call: |
| “When they get together, they can talk about their policies about being anti-woman,” the Nevada Democrat said on the Senate floor. “Since senator McConnell has so enthusiastically embraced Trump, we can only assume he agrees with Trump’s view that women are dogs and pigs.” | “When they get together, they can talk about their policies about being anti-woman,” the Nevada Democrat said on the Senate floor. “Since senator McConnell has so enthusiastically embraced Trump, we can only assume he agrees with Trump’s view that women are dogs and pigs.” |
| Reid says "We can only assume" that McConnell agrees with Trump that "women are dogs" | Reid says "We can only assume" that McConnell agrees with Trump that "women are dogs" |
| 3.59pm BST | 3.59pm BST |
| 15:59 | 15:59 |
| Priebus: 'the meeting was great' | Priebus: 'the meeting was great' |
| Trump has finished his meeting with House leaders and is now en route to meet the senators, CNN reports. | Trump has finished his meeting with House leaders and is now en route to meet the senators, CNN reports. |
| RNC chair Reince Priebus says “the meeting” – it appears he’s talking about the meeting including Paul Ryan – “was great”: | RNC chair Reince Priebus says “the meeting” – it appears he’s talking about the meeting including Paul Ryan – “was great”: |
| The meeting was great. It was a very positive step toward party unity. | The meeting was great. It was a very positive step toward party unity. |
| 3.58pm BST | 3.58pm BST |
| 15:58 | 15:58 |
| Sarah Palin made the transition from politician to reality star. Arnold Schwarzenegger can’t quite be said to be following in her footsteps, owing to the movie career that predated his entry to politics, but he’s now making a similar transition, to run Celebrity Apprentice in its post-Donald Trump incarnation. Trump has become the first reality star to transition successfully to politics (sorry, Clay Aiken). And around goes the merry-go-round. | Sarah Palin made the transition from politician to reality star. Arnold Schwarzenegger can’t quite be said to be following in her footsteps, owing to the movie career that predated his entry to politics, but he’s now making a similar transition, to run Celebrity Apprentice in its post-Donald Trump incarnation. Trump has become the first reality star to transition successfully to politics (sorry, Clay Aiken). And around goes the merry-go-round. |
| You're welcome, America. https://t.co/UA4Sof7U4Z pic.twitter.com/zXYe8vBLKL | You're welcome, America. https://t.co/UA4Sof7U4Z pic.twitter.com/zXYe8vBLKL |
| 3.46pm BST | 3.46pm BST |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| What does Ryan have against Trump? | What does Ryan have against Trump? |
| After an early reluctance to back Donald Trump in the presidential nominating race despite the candidate’s string of authoritative state victories, most Republican members of Congress have come around to supporting the nominee (if not by name) in the week since his resounding victory in Indiana. | After an early reluctance to back Donald Trump in the presidential nominating race despite the candidate’s string of authoritative state victories, most Republican members of Congress have come around to supporting the nominee (if not by name) in the week since his resounding victory in Indiana. |
| The main exception, notable because he is the top Republican elected official in the country, has been House speaker Paul Ryan. “I’m just not ready to do that at this point,” Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, told CNN in an interview last Thursday when asked if he was backing Trump. “I’m not there right now.” | The main exception, notable because he is the top Republican elected official in the country, has been House speaker Paul Ryan. “I’m just not ready to do that at this point,” Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, told CNN in an interview last Thursday when asked if he was backing Trump. “I’m not there right now.” |
| What were Ryan’s objections? Unnamed sources close to the speaker said that Ryan – whose political biography has him as the forthright son of small-town Wisconsin raised on the Midwestern values of personal moral hygiene and interpersonal respect, and whose political mentor was Jack Kemp, the embodiment of a sunnier politics and a more compassionate conservatism – particularly balked at Trump’s call for a “total and complete shutdown” of travel by Muslims to the United States and at Trump’s slowness to reject support from the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist elements. | What were Ryan’s objections? Unnamed sources close to the speaker said that Ryan – whose political biography has him as the forthright son of small-town Wisconsin raised on the Midwestern values of personal moral hygiene and interpersonal respect, and whose political mentor was Jack Kemp, the embodiment of a sunnier politics and a more compassionate conservatism – particularly balked at Trump’s call for a “total and complete shutdown” of travel by Muslims to the United States and at Trump’s slowness to reject support from the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist elements. |
| Ryan’s apparent revulsion at Trump surfaced in a couple news conference the speaker called in March to tut-tut about the nastiness playing out on the campaign trail. “It didn’t used to be this bad,” he said at one. “This party does not prey on people’s prejudices,” he said at another. | Ryan’s apparent revulsion at Trump surfaced in a couple news conference the speaker called in March to tut-tut about the nastiness playing out on the campaign trail. “It didn’t used to be this bad,” he said at one. “This party does not prey on people’s prejudices,” he said at another. |
| But the divisions between the two go beyond stylistic differences, or their separate manuals of political manners. Central to Ryan’s political identity have been his hawkishness on the budget, which extends to cutting spending on Medicare and Social Security, and his support for immigration reform, which includes legal status for DREAMers and “legal probation” for other undocumented migrants. Trump has said he won’t touch people’s Social Security checks and wants to deport all undocumented migrants. | But the divisions between the two go beyond stylistic differences, or their separate manuals of political manners. Central to Ryan’s political identity have been his hawkishness on the budget, which extends to cutting spending on Medicare and Social Security, and his support for immigration reform, which includes legal status for DREAMers and “legal probation” for other undocumented migrants. Trump has said he won’t touch people’s Social Security checks and wants to deport all undocumented migrants. |
| Ryan is scheduled to address the media in about an hour, and to indicate whether he can overcome his objections to Trump, just one week after he last voiced them. On Monday Ryan began indicating he might, saying that his problem with Trump was rooted in the fact that the two were effectively strangers. “We just need to get to know each other,” he said. | Ryan is scheduled to address the media in about an hour, and to indicate whether he can overcome his objections to Trump, just one week after he last voiced them. On Monday Ryan began indicating he might, saying that his problem with Trump was rooted in the fact that the two were effectively strangers. “We just need to get to know each other,” he said. |
| Whatever Ryan’s objections to Trump – whatever the Republican party’s objections to Trump – can their differences be resolved – can they “get to know each other” – sufficiently in a morning meeting in the capital for them to be able to emerge and declare a truce, if not full-on unity? We’ll know more shortly. | Whatever Ryan’s objections to Trump – whatever the Republican party’s objections to Trump – can their differences be resolved – can they “get to know each other” – sufficiently in a morning meeting in the capital for them to be able to emerge and declare a truce, if not full-on unity? We’ll know more shortly. |
| It'd be pretty funny if Paul Ryan came out of the meeting and said "you know what, fuck that guy." | It'd be pretty funny if Paul Ryan came out of the meeting and said "you know what, fuck that guy." |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.49pm BST | at 3.49pm BST |
| 3.11pm BST | 3.11pm BST |
| 15:11 | 15:11 |
| Protesters taunt Trump summit | Protesters taunt Trump summit |
| Protesters gathered outside RNC headquarters as the Republican congressional leadership arrived for the Trump summit. | Protesters gathered outside RNC headquarters as the Republican congressional leadership arrived for the Trump summit. |
| 2.04pm BST | 2.04pm BST |
| 14:04 | 14:04 |
| Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. The battle-hardened and triumphant Donald Trump today will present his victories in the halls of power, where rival leader Paul Ryan must decide whether he is to be greeted as an ally or expelled as a traitor, to the peril, perhaps, of the entire Republican kingdom. | Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. The battle-hardened and triumphant Donald Trump today will present his victories in the halls of power, where rival leader Paul Ryan must decide whether he is to be greeted as an ally or expelled as a traitor, to the peril, perhaps, of the entire Republican kingdom. |
| To say that the Grand Old Party has arrived at a fraught juncture in its 160-year history is to risk understating the stakes of meetings today on in Washington between the presumptive presidential nominee and congressional leaders including Ryan, the speaker of the House. | To say that the Grand Old Party has arrived at a fraught juncture in its 160-year history is to risk understating the stakes of meetings today on in Washington between the presumptive presidential nominee and congressional leaders including Ryan, the speaker of the House. |
| The conclusion may already have been written. Ryan on Wednesday signaled a new willingness to work with Trump, whose promise to exclude Muslims from the US and seeming lack of discomfort with the KKK reportedly fed Ryan’s reluctance, stated just last week, to back him. | The conclusion may already have been written. Ryan on Wednesday signaled a new willingness to work with Trump, whose promise to exclude Muslims from the US and seeming lack of discomfort with the KKK reportedly fed Ryan’s reluctance, stated just last week, to back him. |
| “I want to be a part of that unifying process,” Ryan decided yesterday morning, calling the GOP a “big-tent party”. | “I want to be a part of that unifying process,” Ryan decided yesterday morning, calling the GOP a “big-tent party”. |
| Related: Take it or leave it: Trump's rise puts moderate Republicans in a tough spot | Related: Take it or leave it: Trump's rise puts moderate Republicans in a tough spot |
| Trump made sounds of compromise, too, telling Fox News Channel’s Brian Kilmeade that his plan to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the US was “only a suggestion”. | Trump made sounds of compromise, too, telling Fox News Channel’s Brian Kilmeade that his plan to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the US was “only a suggestion”. |
| “It hasn’t been called for yet,” Trump said on Kilmeade & Friends, when asked about criticism from the newly elected mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. “Nobody’s done it. | “It hasn’t been called for yet,” Trump said on Kilmeade & Friends, when asked about criticism from the newly elected mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. “Nobody’s done it. |
| “It’s a temporary ban, it hasn’t been called for yet, nobody’s done it, this is just a suggestion until we find out what’s going on,” Trump said. | “It’s a temporary ban, it hasn’t been called for yet, nobody’s done it, this is just a suggestion until we find out what’s going on,” Trump said. |
| In December, Trump proposed a “total and complete shutdown” on Muslim travel to the US. | In December, Trump proposed a “total and complete shutdown” on Muslim travel to the US. |
| Thanks for reading and as always, please join us in the comments. | Thanks for reading and as always, please join us in the comments. |
| Related: Donald Trump's refusal to release tax returns 'disqualifying' says Mitt Romney | Related: Donald Trump's refusal to release tax returns 'disqualifying' says Mitt Romney |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.12pm BST | at 3.12pm BST |