Donald Trump and Paul Ryan spoke by telephone on Wednesday night, as the pair of Republican leaders try to break a weeks-long impasse over an endorsement.
Two members of Trump’s team told Bloomberg that they believe a formal endorsement from Ryan, the House speaker, is imminent. A Trump aide with knowledge of the call said the conversation was arranged days ago with the goal of resolving the current rift between the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Ryan.
The real-estate developer and TV personality expected to focus the call on policy areas where he and Ryan are in agreement, but he has no plans to make significant changes to his policy platform, according to the Trump aide.
A spokesman for Ryan’s political team, Zack Roday, confirmed the call was scheduled for Wednesday night. A person familiar with the call confirmed it took place, saying it was a good conversation and there was no talk of endorsements.
“The purpose of the call tonight is for the two of them to continue their conversation about unifying the party. We never gave any indication that the call was about an endorsement,” Roday told Bloomberg.
The standoff has turned into a significant complication for both Trump, who is trying to consolidate the party after a bruising primary, and for Ryan, who’s under pressure from both opponents and supporters of the combative candidate.
Earlier Wednesday, Ryan responded to reports that he had begun telling confidants he is ready to end his standoff with Trump, saying that he has not decided yet whether to endorse Trump.
“I have not made a decision,” the House speaker told reporters. “We’re still having productive conversations.”
The conflict began in early May when the speaker announced he was not yet ready to back Trump, a decision that Ryan now worries is exacerbating his party’s divisions, said two people close to the lawmaker.
Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort also told a small group of lawmakers last Thursday that he expects an endorsement from Ryan as early as this week, according to two people in the meeting.
Manafort told the gathering last week that Ryan’s backing would put added pressure on the party’s remaining holdouts to fall in line and endorse Trump. It would also link the speaker more directly to the candidate, marking a significant break for a man who ran on a presidential ticket in 2012 with Mitt Romney-by far Trump’s loudest critic inside the party.
On Wednesday, Ryan said he is still hearing input and suggestions from all sides.
“I think it’s important that we actually discuss the principles that we all share in common and the policies that come from them. And get a good understanding on bills,” he said. “Our staffs talk virtually every day. We’re having good conversations.”
“More folks are getting with him as well-other members of Congress-and that’s all that you need to do to begin to get on the same page,” he said.
Ryan has said that he doesn’t want a “fake unification,” but the pair remain far apart on several significant policy issues, particularly free trade and immigration.
