Ben Carson’s business manager: No one expects Ryan to endorse Trump tomorrow
Ben Carson’s business manager, Armstrong Williams, told Yahoo News Guest Anchor Paul Beban on “Yahoo News Live” Wednesday not to expect an endorsement of Donald Trump from House Speaker Paul Ryan tomorrow after the speaker’s meeting with the Republican presumptive nominee. He said if Ryan did endorse Trump immediately, it would make the speaker look “weak.”
Williams said he initiated a phone call between Carson and Ryan on Tuesday night that “certainly paved the way for a better understanding in starting the process of unifying all factions of the party.” He continued, “Obviously, there are some very serious, strong and spirited alpha males in the Republican Party, and bringing them together is no easy feat, but the process has begun as a result of Dr. Carson — and Mr. Trump’s willingness to trust Dr. Carson as one of his trusted allies and confidantes — to start this process, to pave the way, to come to some kind of resolution where this party could unify and defeat the presumptive Democratic nominee in November.”
When Trump spoke with Carson, Williams said, he welcomed the idea of Carson’s phone call with Ryan. He said Carson “made it clear in that conversation with Mr. Trump that he had a good relationship with the speaker of the House, that they did speak occasionally and that he would be more than happy to sort of intervene as an emissary to sort of set a dynamic in place that would give the speaker of the House a better understanding of Mr. Trump, and from that Mr. Trump could have a better understanding of the speaker. Mr. Trump welcomed that suggestion.”
In terms of what comes out of the meeting tomorrow, Williams said, “No one expects that the speaker’s going to walk out of that room and say, ‘Hey, I’m endorsing Donald Trump,’ because I think it would lose credibility with the base. It would not appear to be sincere. It’s a process. They will meet. It will give the speaker some additional things to ponder about ways that they can work together and better understand each other’s policy positions. I think it would give Mr. Trump a better understanding of the speaker, and it’s very different when you’re meeting someone face-to-face, you’re watching their body language, you see the sincerity of their heart and their ideas. I think it brings … it starts the process of unifying the party.”
Why won’t Ryan endorse Trump tomorrow? Williams said: “I think it’s actually common sense. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would expect the speaker to immediately endorse Mr. Trump after the statements that were made. I think it would make the speaker appear weak and vulnerable, and we don’t want the speaker of the House to appear that way. I think he needs to continue the process, contemplate what was discussed, have further discussions with the staff of Mr. Trump and then let him come to the conclusion in a way that shows integrity and shows strength that he finally has come to the conclusion that he can endorse Mr. Trump and start the process of unifying the party.”
Carson was initially critical of Ryan after the House speaker said he wasn’t “ready” to endorse Trump, saying Ryan needed to be “more mature.” However, Williams told Beban that Carson now regrets that harsh criticism. “Well, Dr. Carson regrets using that term, ‘mature.’ Dr. Carson initially reacted like others when Mr. Ryan made that statement, but then Dr. Carson had to step back and reevaluate his own statements and whether what he said is going to actually move the party forward or whether what he needs to do is reach out to someone he already has a relationship [with] and communicate with and establish some dialogue and some better understanding, and that’s exactly what he did in this conversation with the speaker last night,” he said.
In terms of Carson’s role in Trump’s campaign, Williams told Beban that although Carson is no longer on Trump’s vice presidential selection committee, he “submitted his names to Mr. Trump and to that committee last week as well as others.” He continued, “Mr. Trump asked his former campaign chairman to take that list and start the vetting process, which is a very tedious and a very arduous process. Now the process continues, but in terms of the role that Dr. Carson’s playing right now, it’s a very limited role right now, but as soon as these names are vetted and this process turns to phase two, Dr. Carson will continue to be involved in this process of finding a running mate for Mr. Trump.”
