Trump might try to remove Paul Ryan as GOP convention chairman

Donald Trump won&#039;t say if he will allow Paul Ryan to be GOP convention chairman

(Image credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

published 9 May 2016

Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are scheduled to meet privately on Thursday, but tensions over Ryan's refusal to endorse Trump surfaced over the weekend. On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump would not rule out the possibility that he'd try to block Ryan from presiding over the Republican National Convention as chairman if Ryan declines to back him by then. "I don't want to mention now," Trump told NBC's Chuck Todd. "I'll see after. I will give you a very solid answer, if that happens." He added that he isn't "annoyed" by Ryan's lack of endorsement, and that if Ryan doesn't fall in line, "I don't think it hurts me at all.... If he doesn't want to support me, that's fine."

Also on Sunday, Trump backer Sarah Palin said she will work to unseat Ryan in the Republican primary in August, citing his refusal to endorse Trump. Ryan is just one issue Trump needs to address before the Republican convention in July. Unless there is a deal, Ted Cruz's almost 600 delegates could vote against Trump at the convention, and Cruz has not said whether he supports embarrassing Trump or not. "It is in Sen. Cruz's interests to eventually be visibly supportive of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee," senior Trump adviser Paul Manafort told The New York Times.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.