Republicans Brace For Outcome Of Trump, Ryan Meeting

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will meet Thursday with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in Washington, the first of several high-profile meetings with Republican leaders that come as the campaign seeks to unite the party – and its resources – ahead of a competitive general election.

Ryan has so far refused to endorse Trump — a stance that has focused immense attention on their meeting Thursday morning at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill.

The summit between Ryan and Trump is being cast as an opportunity to soothe tensions between Trump and the GOP establishment at a pivotal moment for a party sharply divided over the likely nominee’s unorthodox and controversial campaign.

The day of sit downs begins at 9 a.m. when Trump meets with Ryan, R-Wis., and his leadership team. He will meet later in the morning with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his top associates. The Trump campaign said the agenda for the gatherings will include “issues of mutual interest.”

The two sides have engaged in a war of words since Ryan declared last week that he was “just not ready” to support Trump as the party nominee. Trump responded in a statement that he was not ready “to support Speaker Ryan’s agenda.” The comments highlighted the rifts that Trump will need to overcome in coming weeks as he seeks to unify the party.

Already, Trump and Ryan have sought to distance themselves from their hostile exchange. Trump said Wednesday night that the purpose of the meeting with Ryan is “unity,” striking a conciliatory tone after the public spat and adding that the two are looking to get to know each other.

“Paul is a good person. I don’t know Paul well. And I think that’s part of the meeting,” Trump said Wednesday evening on Fox News. “And I think we want to get to know each other. I think we want to see if we have the same ideas because I represent a large group of people with very strong ideas and foundations. And I think we want to see a little bit about that.”

Ryan also struck a conciliatory tone ahead of the meeting, telling reporters he was eager to develop a relationship with Trump.

“We just need to get to know each other. And we as a leadership team are enjoying that we have a chance to meet with him,” Ryan said Wednesday. “This is a big-tent party. There’s plenty of room for different policy disputes in this party. We come from different wings of the party. The goal here is to unify the various wings of the party around common principles so that we can go forward unified.”

But tensions within the party over Trump have only worsened in the week since he effectively clinched the nomination following the departures of rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Former GOP nominee Mitt Romney, members of the Bush family and other top Republicans have declined to endorse Trump publicly. Romney, who ran in 2012 with Ryan as his running mate, blasted Trump on Wednesday for suggesting he would not release his tax returns until after the election.

The real estate mogul will need party resources behind his White House run if he hopes to run a competitive bid against likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The Trump campaign is finalizing plans with the RNC to set up a joint fundraising committee – a “victory fund” – to solicit donations far larger in magnitude than what the campaign itself is legally allowed to accept. The additional funds are routed to the party’s war chest then used to finance national get-out-the-vote operations.