Can this GOP family find peace? Trump, Ryan to face off

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump grudgingly agreed Friday to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan to work out their differences in the midst of an extraordinary display of Republican vs. Republican strife. But he said he had “no idea” if they would patch things up and it didn’t really matter that much when compared to all the votes he’d won in this year’s primary elections.

“The thing that matters most are the millions of people that have come out to vote for me and give me a landslide victory in almost every state,” Trump said moments after Ryan, the nation’s highest-ranking Republican officeholder, announced their planned meeting.

Ryan said that the meeting would occur next Thursday and that Trump also would meet with other House GOP leaders. Discussions will center on “the kind of Republican principles and ideas that can win the support of the American people this November,” Ryan said.

The unlikely back-and-forth came a day after Ryan injected new uncertainty into the turbulent presidential contest by refusing, for now, to endorse Trump. Aides said that, far from seeking to helm an anti-Trump movement, Ryan hopes to exert a positive influence for the general election campaign after a nominating contest that has alienated women, minorities and other voter groups.

Yet Trump’s reaction Friday made it unclear what impact Ryan could have on the bombastic billionaire.

“With millions of people coming into the party, obviously I’m saying the right thing,” Trump said on Fox News Channel. “I mean, he talks about unity, but what is this?”

So next week’s meeting could prove the beginning of a healing process in the GOP or another outlandish episode in an election season full of them. “This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show,” President Barack Obama said Friday when asked about Trump’s ascension.