Trump, Ryan to meet amid growing Republican calls to unify

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump took a conciliatory tone toward House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., late Wednesday ahead of a planned sitdown on Capitol Hill. 
When asked by Fox News' Greta van Susteren, "Who is the leader of the Republican Party today?", the real estate mogul responded, "Well, I would say Paul Ryan ... for the time being and maybe for a long time."
Trump is scheduled to meet twice with Ryan Thursday, once alongside Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Reince Priebus and again with Ryan's House leadership team. Trump is also expected to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other top Senate Republicans.
Ryan, the highest-ranking GOP elected official, has so far refused to endorse Trump, saying last week he was "just not ready to do so." On Wednesday, Ryan said he wanted to pursue "real unification" among Republicans after a hotly contested primary campaign. 
"We cannot afford to lose this election to Hillary Clinton,” Ryan told a news conference Wednesday, adding that "to pretend [Republicans are] unified as a party" would mean contesting the general election campaign at "half strength."
In a closed-door GOP meeting Wednesday a number of Republicans stood up and argued in support of Trump, with one saying that anyone who cares about "unborn babies" should get behind him because of the likelihood the next president will make Supreme Court appointments, and Trump's would be better than Clinton's, lawmakers who were present told the Associated Press.

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Others expressed reservations, and asked Ryan to raise concerns with Trump about where he really stands on social issues and budgetary policies, including changes to Social Security and Medicare. Trump has said in the past that he doesn't want to touch Social Security or Medicare, whereas Medicare cuts have been a centerpiece of GOP budgets Ryan has shepherded over the years.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump sought to downplay the stakes of his visit with Ryan, telling "Fox and Friends", "If we make a deal, that will be great. And if we don't, we will trudge forward like I've been doing and winning all the time."
Trump's allies and advisers have repeatedly insisted that he can claim the White House with or without leading congressional Republicans, who continue to express reservations about his tone and inconsistent policy prescriptions. Additionally, Trump's team doesn't believe Ryan or the GOP's other congressional leaders have any significant influence on the majority of general election voters.
Some congressional Republicans have made clear that they would like to see Ryan come around to supporting Trump sooner rather than later.

"If Paul had come out and said he was going to support our nominee after the convention, whoever that is, there'd be no story," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., a leader in the conservative Freedom Caucus. "And now we have to deal with the story."

"Donald Trump is unifying the party already," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trump's chief Washington ally. "The party is the people who vote."
Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., also a Trump supporter, said the businessman would be stronger with Ryan's support, "but frankly, Donald Trump is going to win regardless of who supports him and who doesn't support him."
Another Trump supporter, Rep. John Fleming, R-La., predicted it was "very unlikely" that Ryan would not ultimately back the Republican nominee.
"He wants to unify the Republican Party, and it all sort of begins tomorrow," Fleming said of Ryan.
Wednesday night, Trump's campaign released an endorsement signed by the chairs of seven House committees. "It is paramount that we coalesce around the Republican nominee, Mr. Donald J. Trump," the GOP lawmakers wrote.
While Trump's team is prepared to shrug off much of the party's establishment, that does not include the RNC.
The political novice plans to rely heavily on the committee's expansive political operation to supplement his bare-bones campaign, which has so far ignored seemingly vital functions such as voter data collection, swing-state staffing and fundraising infrastructure.
"As we turn our focus toward the general election, we want to make sure there's the strongest partnership," said Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief strategist.
Absent a viable Republican alternative, there were new signs on Capitol Hill that Trump's conservative critics were beginning to fall in line.
"As a conservative, I cannot trust Donald Trump to do the right thing, but I can deeply trust Hillary Clinton to do the wrong thing every time," said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., adding that he would vote for Trump if that's the choice he has.
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho., said he will support Trump, although "I'm not enthusiastic about it."
"He can get us enthusiastic if he comes to talk to us," continued Labrador, who is part of the Freedom Caucus. ''These are the people who are going to go out to the districts that he needs to win overwhelmingly so he can win the nominations."
Meanwhile, more Republican voters appear to be moving behind Trump, despite big-name holdouts such as Ryan, both former president Bushes and the party's 2012 nominee Mitt Romney.
Almost two in three Republican-leaning voters now view Trump favorably, compared to 31 percent who view him unfavorably, according to a national Gallup Poll taken last week. The numbers represent a near reversal from Gallup's survey in early March.