Already tense relations between the Republican Party and their presidential candidate Donald Trump were put to the test after Trump refused to endorse Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) or Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) ahead of their state primaries.
Following Trump’s declaration of non-endorsement, Chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus, a close friend of the Speaker, called the candidate to express frustration on Tuesday, according to a report by ABC.
“I like Paul,” Trump told the Washington Post on Aug. 2. “But these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there. I’m not quite there yet.”
Trump’s comments echo those of Ryan who said in May this year that he was “just not ready” and not “there right now” when asked whether he would endorse the candidate.
However, Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, did come out to endorse Ryan a day after Trump’s comments.
“[Trump] strongly encouraged me to endorse Paul Ryan in next Tuesday’s primary and I’m pleased to do it,” he told Fox News.
“I’ve never been there with John McCain,” Trump told the Washington Post, “because I’ve always felt that he should’ve done a much better job for the vets,” he said of the Arizona Senator, who is a well-known veteran of the Vietnam War.
Trump has had a contentious relationship with McCain, saying last year that he didn’t consider the Senator, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for over five years, to be a war hero because he likes “people who weren’t captured.”
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