Donald Trump is now refusing to endorse Paul Ryan: 'I'm not quite there yet'


Sometimes, when you shout into the void, the void shouts back.
Back in May, House Speaker Paul Ryan publicly waffled on endorsing his party's then-presumptive nominee for president, Donald Trump. "I'm just not ready to do that at this point," Ryan said. "I'm not there right now." Ryan eventually endorsed Trump in June, though the two men have disagreed mightily in the months since.
So, naturally, in an interview Tuesday with The Washington Post, Trump refused to endorse Ryan in his Wisconsin primary election. "I'm not quite there yet," Trump told the Post, echoing Ryan's comments this spring. "I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country."
Subscribe to 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.
Also in the interview, Trump said he would not be supporting Arizona Sen. John McCain's re-election bid this fall, despite the fact that McCain endorsed him in May. The slight likely stems from McCain's lengthy statement Monday slamming Trump's comments regarding Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who died while serving in Iraq.
Ryan's primary election takes place next Tuesday, and the incumbent has long led the race for his seat. Still, as the Post notes, "Trump's refusal to back Ryan represents an extraordinary breach of political decorum." Read more on the Machiavellian tactics at The Washington Post.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Do smartphone bans in schools work?
The Explainer Trials in UK, New Zealand, France and the US found prohibition may be only part of the solution
-
Doom: The Dark Ages – an 'exhilarating' prequel
The Week Recommends Legendary shooter adds new combat options from timed parries to melee attacks and a 'particularly satisfying' shield charge
-
7 US cities to explore on a microtrip
The Week Recommends Not enough vacation days? No problem.
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members