Trump campaign chairman predicts a ‘coming together’ of GOP officials

Trump sparked further GOP outrage earlier in the week when he refused to endorse Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican and the party’s top elected official.

That infuriated Republican leaders close to Ryan – and in particular the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, himself from Wisconsin – who have sought to project party unity as the general election season hits its stride.

Ryan’s office released a statement, saying, “He appreciates the gesture and is going to continue to focus on earning the endorsement of the voters in Southern Wisconsin”.

“It worked so well for him last time, he chose to do it all over again”, said Mark Graul, a GOP strategist in Green Bay, where Trump and running mate Mike Pence will hold a Friday night rally.

Ryan, who has criticized aspects of Trump’s campaign, replied that his endorsement of the NY businessman is not a blank check, and “if I see and hear things that I think are wrong, I’m not going to sit by and say nothing”. And he attacked Ryan for daring to object to Trump’s criticism of the family of slain US soldier Humayun Khan.

Mr Trump appeared to try to assuage the concerns of reluctant Republicans, urging them to consider his running mate Mike Pence, the conservative governor of IN whom Mr Trump chose IN part because he brings important executive and congressional experience to the ticket. “He’s not a war hero”, Trump said then.

McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, has also criticized the Trump campaign. On Friday, the Clinton campaign released an ad featuring several high-profile Republicans denouncing the GOP nominee.

“If Hillary Clinton becomes president”, he said, “you will have really, in my opinion, the destruction of this country from within”.

Trump ignited a firestorm in his party this week when he pointedly withheld his endorsement from Ryan, who faces a primary challenge Tuesday.

Mrs Clinton endured tests of her own Friday, as she took the rare step of facing reporters at a Washington conference of journalists where she was pressed on her recent comments that she has been truthful about her private email account while she was secretary of state.

This is not the first time during this election cycle that Paul Ryan has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender who could wrest the party’s nomination away from Donald Trump.

“I may have short circuited and for that I will try to clarify”, Clinton said, though still insisting that she “never sent or received anything that was marked classified”.

“Wisconsin, you know how to win”, Kaine said. Khan’s speech on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in which he evoked the memory of his deceased son who died serving in the US military – while reprimanding Trump – was very moving for most people, but seemed to infuriate Donald Trump. “That’s OK”, he tells a rally crowd in Des Moines, Iowa.

More critically, key swing states – such as Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and New Hampshire – where Trump has counted the core of his support – are all now in Clinton’s pocket.

Mr Morell said that as Russian President Vladimir Putin “played upon Mr Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him”.

Trump has been expressing outrage about a $400 million payment the US made to Iran this year. But many prominent figures in the party are finally beginning to consider the possibility that Donald Trump either can not or will not pivot. She added, “I’m going to work my heart out in this campaign and as president to produce results for people”.