http://wtvr.com/2016/05/12/trump-ryan-tout-unity-in-wake-of-meeting/WTVR.com
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan concluded their highly anticipated meeting Thursday amid signals that the Republican Party will work to piece itself together after a fractious primary.
“While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground,” Trump and Ryan said in a joint statement. “We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal.”
Ryan, speaking with reporters during his weekly press briefing, sought to portray his openness to Trump, despite withholding his endorsement.
“This is our first meeting, I was very encouraged with this meeting, but this is a process. It takes some time, you don’t put it together in 45 minutes,” he said.
The speaker called Trump’s achievement of earning more votes than any Republican candidate in history “really kind of unparalleled,” and clearly hopes to channel the support for the presumptive nominee into support for a conservative policy agenda writ large.
“The question is … how we unify it all? How do we keep adding and adding and adding voters while not subtracting any voters?” he said. “Most Americans do not like where this country is headed.”
