Paul Ryan (Finally) Endorses Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has been on the fence for some time now. He originally cast his vote with Ted Cruz, but as the GOP field narrowed down to one, he was quoted as saying that he “wasn’t ready” to embrace Trump’s agenda. 

“The bulk of the burden of unifying the Party will have to come from our presumptive nominee,” said Ryan last month before Reince Priebus brokered a meeting between Trump and the Speaker. 

As the RNC draws near, Ryan and other noteworthy Republicans are finding that they have no choice but to support Donald Trump as the man to unite the Party and bring them to victory in November. Both Ryan and Trump have put in considerable effort to work together and have shown a willingness to cooperate.

“We have talked at great length about things such as the proper role of the executive and fundamental principles such as the protection of life,” wrote Ryan in his hometown’s newspaper. “Through these conversations, I feel confident he would help us turn the ideas in this agenda into laws to help improve people’s lives. That’s why I’ll be voting for him this fall.”

“It’s no secret that he and I have our differences,” he continues. “I won’t pretend otherwise. And when I feel the need to, I’ll continue to speak my mind. But the reality is, on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement.” 

“So great to have the endorsement and support of Paul Ryan. We will both be working very hard to make America great again!” Trump posted to Twitter after Ryan’s Thursday afternoon announcement. 

Ryan’s endorsement comes in tandem with that of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. We can expect this decision to convince other hesitant Republicans to follow suit in joining team Trump. 

Editor’s note:  While this may be more a tempest in a teacup, playing out in the media, Trump has met with Ryan several times to discuss their differences. While Ryan’s endorsement is not that important from a voter standpoint, a good relationship will be important in a Trump administration.