After months of saying he wasn’t ready to endorse the presumptive nominee of the Republican party, the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan published an op-ed in his hometown paper announcing that he is going to vote for Donald Trump in the fall.
Ryan’s endorsement comes following months of conversations with Trump about Supreme Court replacements, the Republican agenda, reforms in the House of Representatives, and “how important these reforms are to saving our country”:
“We’ve discussed how the House can be a driver of policy ideas. We’ve talked about how important these reforms are to saving our country. And we’ve talked about how, by focusing on issues that unite Republicans, we can work together to heal the fissures developed through the primary.
“Through these conversations, I feel confident he would help us turn the ideas in this agenda into laws to help improve people’s lives. That’s why I'll be voting for him this fall.”
Ryan admits that Trump and he have differences, but that “on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement.”
The deciding factor was a need to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House, as she will not support the agenda:
“One person who we know won’t support it is Hillary Clinton. A Clinton White House would mean four more years of liberal cronyism and a government more out for itself than the people it serves. Quite simply, she represents all that our agenda aims to fix.”
Ryan finished his endorsement stating that the difference between Clinton and Trump is “not just a choice of two people, but of two visions for America”:
“For me, it’s a question of how to move ahead on the ideas that I—and my House colleagues—have invested so much in through the years. It’s not just a choice of two people, but of two visions for America. And House Republicans are helping shape that Republican vision by offering a bold policy agenda, by offering a better way ahead.
Donald Trump can help us make it a reality.”
According to Politico, “a source close to Ryan said the speaker’s decision to endorse was made this week and not in consultation with Trump’s campaign.”
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