House Speaker Paul Ryan Makes the Trump Announcement Everyone’s Been Waiting For

Saying he and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “have more common ground than disagreement,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced Thursday that he will support Trump.

In the wake of Trump winning the required number of delegates to secure the Republican nomination, Ryan, who has differed with Trump on issues such as immigration, said last month he was “not ready” to endorse Trump.

The two later met. After what was proclaimed a good meeting, the Trump campaign had indicated a formal statement supporting Trump would be forthcoming.

Ryan issued his statement supporting Trump in the form of a guest column in The Gazette, the paper serving Ryan’s hometown of Janesville, Wis.

In the column, Ryan said the goal in the 2016 elections has been to show what Republicans are supporting, not just what they oppose. That’s why, he wrote, House Republicans have been adopting a policy agenda that represents ideas to move America forward.

“To enact these ideas, we need a Republican president willing to sign them into law. That’s why, when he sealed the nomination, I could not offer my support for Donald Trump before discussing policies and basic principles,” Ryan wrote. “As I said from the start, my goal has been to unite the party so we can win in the fall. And if we’re going to unite, it has to be over ideas.

“Donald Trump and I have talked at great length about things such as the proper role of the executive and fundamental principles such as the protection of life. The list of potential Supreme Court nominees he released after our first meeting was very encouraging.”

Ryan said “the House policy agenda” has been the main subject the two men have discussed.

“We’ve talked about how important these reforms are to saving our country. And we’ve talked about how, by focusing on issues that unite Republicans, we can work together to heal the fissures developed through the primary,” Ryan wrote.

“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,” he wrote.

Ryan said support does not mean stifling dissent.

“It’s no secret that he and I have our differences. 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,” he wrote.

Ryan said the coming election is “not just a choice of two people, but of two visions for America. And House Republicans are helping shape that Republican vision by offering a bold policy agenda, by offering a better way ahead.”

“Donald Trump can help us make it a reality,” Ryan wrote. (For more from the author of “House Speaker Paul Ryan Makes the Trump Announcement Everyone’s Been Waiting For” please click HERE)

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