Donald Trump’s campaign chairman on Thursday said House Speaker Paul D. Ryan is not going to lose a GOP primary contest on Tuesday, but that there’s a “conflict” within the campaign and that Mr. Trump generally doesn’t wade into primary elections.
“There’s a conflict within the Trump campaign, and we’ve sort of had a rule of not getting involved in primaries because it’s usually not a good situation for the presidential candidate,” Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“Of course he’s going to work with Paul Ryan. Of course he’s tried to bridge the party together with Paul Ryan,” Mr. Manafort said.
“But Ryan is also running against somebody who’s not going to win, but nonetheless, [he’s] a strong supporter of Mr. Trump’s,” he said.
“And so it’s not just in Paul Ryan’s district - that gets all the notoriety because it’s the speaker,” he said.
Mr. Ryan is squaring off against businessman Paul Nehlen in a GOP primary contest on Tuesday. Mr. Trump told the Washington Post earlier in the week he’s not quite there yet on endorsing the speaker.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Mr. Trump’s running mate, endorsed Mr. Ryan on Wednesday, saying on Fox News that Mr. Trump encouraged him to do so.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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