Republican leaders divided on supporting Trump

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The Republican party is facing a divide, with party leader Paul Ryan refusing to support Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, insisting that the businessman must do more to unite the party. Appearing on CNN’s show The Lead, Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Thursday that many Republicans wanted to see “a standard-bearer who bears our standards” and “unifies all the wings of the Republican Party”.

“I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

It comes two days after Trump essentially clinched the nomination with a commanding win in Indiana that forced his last two opponents – Ted Cruz and John Kasich – from the race. Trump, who has become party’s presumptive presidential nominee, responded by saying he is not ready to support Ryan’s agenda either. “Perhaps in the future we can work together,” the billionaire businessman added.

Ryan is not the only one to have aired opposition to Trump. Former Presidents George H W Bush and George W Bush and several other senior Republicans have refused to back the real estate mogul. But Indiana Governor Mike Pence and former Texas Governor Rick Perry threw their weight behind the presidential nominee.