Trump might try to remove Paul Ryan as GOP convention chairman
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
David Hockney at Annely Juda: an ‘eye-popping’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends ‘Some Very, Very, Very New Paintings Not Yet Shown in Paris’ testifies to the artist’s ‘extraordinary vitality’ and ‘childlike curiosity’
-
The most downloaded country song in the US is AI-generatedUnder the radar Both the song and artist appear to be entirely the creation of artificial intelligence
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A blindfolded giraffe, an icy unicorn, and more
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
