Reluctant GOP falls in line behind Trump
JANESVILLE, Wis. — He’s finally got Paul Ryan’s endorsement, but many officials in Donald Trump’s new wave of supporters remain reluctant backers at best. Leaders who have pledged their backing still aren’t wholly satisfied with his temperament, policies or readiness for the White House.
As Trump works to unify the fractured GOP behind him, these Republicans, Ryan among them, are struggling to show the same
enthusiasm Trump has generated among rankand-file conservatives across the nation.
“He’s a work in progress,” said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, who promised to support the GOP nominee several weeks ago.
Would Trump be a good president? “To me this is a question of alternatives,” Cole told The Associated Press on Friday in a classic lukewarm embrace. “I’m comfortable that he will be a better president than Hillary Clinton.”
The day before, House Speaker Ryan ended an extraordinary public split by endorsing Trump in a column published in his hometown newspaper. Republican officials suggested the endorsement marked an important step toward party unification, even while conceding that the speaker’s endorsement was somewhat underwhelming.
In a subsequent interview with The Associated Press, Ryan did not express support for
any of Trump’s policies, would not promise to campaign on his behalf this fall and reminded voters that he doesn’t support Trump’s confrontational style.
And, the day after the endorsement, Ryan lashed out at Trump’s suggestion that a federal judge should recuse himself from a case involving one of Trump’s companies because of his Mexican heritage.
Several other Trump backers on Friday had trouble detailing which of his policies they support and expressed continued concern about his temperament as president.
And, keeping the candidate at arm’s length, still others reassured nervous colleagues by citing constitutional protections that could help limit the risks.
“I still believe we have the institutions of government that would restrain someone who seeks to exceed their constitutional obligations,” Arizona Sen. John McCain told The New York Times. “We have a Congress. We have the Supreme Court. We’re not Romania.”