The Slatest

Paul Ryan Spokesman Denies Report That Ryan Is About to Endorse Trump

The time has not yet come, a Ryan spokesman says.

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Here at Slate, we believe that it is inevitable that Paul Ryan will cravenly endorse Donald Trump despite Ryan’s ongoing show of principled reticence. Thus it was not surprising when Bloomberg News reported Tuesday night that Ryan regretted his standoff with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and was possibly planning an endorsement this week:

House Speaker Paul Ryan has begun telling confidants that he wants to end his standoff with Donald Trump in part because he’s worried the split has sharpened divisions in the Republican Party, according to two people close to the lawmaker … Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, told a small group of Republican lawmakers Thursday that he expects Ryan to endorse the party’s nominee as early as this week, according to two people in the meeting.

Trump campaign sources have apparently told ABC the same thing. Bloomberg, however, noted that “Ryan aides say nothing has been decided about a possible Trump endorsement,” a position that a Ryan spokesman also reiterated forcefully this morning to ABC:

A Ryan spokesman, when asked today whether Speaker Ryan is preparing to endorse Trump, said, “There’s no update and we’ve not told the Trump campaign to expect an endorsement.”

“He’s also not told anyone he regrets anything,” the spokesman said of Ryan.

So there you go. Paul Ryan might endorse Donald Trump, but he might not! But he probably will.