Trump won’t support Paul Ryan, John McCain in upcoming primaries

As criticism, tolerance and support swirl throughout the Republican ranks, presidential nominee Donald Trump said Tuesday that he isn’t supporting two of the party’s most prominent leaders in their upcoming congressional races.

The election is scheduled for 30 August. Yet their party’s presidential nominee would not bless them in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Trump’s back-and-forth with Khan’s parents continued to draw rebukes from fellow Republicans across the country Tuesday, including Ryan, who said in a statement Sunday the sacrifice of the Khan family “should always be honored”. “We need fighters in this country. And I’m just not quite there yet”, Trump said. “I’m not quite there yet”, Trump said of Ryan.

“I’ve never been there with John McCain because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets”, Trump said.

The New York real estate mogul’s comments suggest retaliation for hesitation displayed by Mr Ryan as he was asked to endorse his party’s then-presumptive nominee.

Ryan faces Paul Nehlen in Wisconsin next week. “I reject it”, Ryan said in the statement.

Trump told The Washington Post he refused to endorse Ryan or Arizona Sen.

“Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement”, Ryan campaign spokesman Zack Roday said in a statement, adding the campaign was “confident” Ryan would win his primary.

At roughly the same time, Pence blasted Russian Federation in a statement issued by the campaign that said “the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences” if Russian Federation is “interfering in our elections”.

Trump turned the tables Tuesday.

“My pleasure, Sir. Just want to Make America Great Again”, Nehlen responded from his account 10 minutes after Trump’s tweet.

Last weekend, Pence, whose only son is a U.S. Marine, sought to quell the uproar Trump created by lashing out at Capt. Humayun Khan’s parents, who appeared at the Democratic convention and have criticized Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric.

McCain in particular was harsh, saying Trump did not have an “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us”.

He backed up those remarks at a Monday evening town hall meeting in Nevada, when the audience jeered a woman who asked how he can tolerate what she called Trump’s disrespect of American servicemen.

The dustup marked a significant crack in the hard alliance between Trump and the Republican establishment and raised the question of whether any GOP office holders who have endorsed the billionaire would rescind their support.