AJC polling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has commissioned a poll of Georgians that is being conducted this week. It will publish the following stories based on that polling:
- Saturday: How do Georgians rate the work done by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and the rest of the state's congressional delegation?
- Sunday: How do the state's residents expect to vote in November's presidential election?
- Monday: How have his vetoes of a "religious liberty" bill and a campus gun bill affected Gov. Nathan Deal's approval rating?
Two of the top figures in the Republican Party showed signs they were coalescing on Thursday, but U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said he would need to speak more with presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump before he’s ready to endorse the billionaire.
Trump’s closely watched sojourn to Capitol Hill included private meetings with Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, all of which were meant to build unity across the party after a slash-and-burn primary season that left the party fragmented.
The results? Still murky, but the different GOP players appeared to be inching closer.
While McConnell, R-Ky., has already endorsed Trump — albeit tepidly — Ryan said Thursday that he is not yet willing to do the same after meeting with Trump for nearly an hour.
“I was very encouraged with what I heard from Donald Trump today,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters later Thursday. “I do believe that we are now planting the seeds to get ourselves unified, to bridge the gaps and differences.”
Ryan said it was his first occasion spending any real time with Trump — he described the real estate magnate as “a very warm and genuine person.” But Ryan said he would need to have more policy discussions with Trump before deciding whether to back the candidate.
“From here, we are going to go deeper into the policy areas to see where that common ground (is) and how we can make sure that we are operating off the same core principles,” Ryan said.
Ryan has spent recent weeks building support for an ambitious policy platform that could give some House Republicans a rallying political point in the upcoming elections, as opposed to Trump’s candidacy. Trump said last week that he wasn’t “ready” to back Ryan’s policy agenda after the speaker initially announced he was “just not ready” to support Trump.
On Thursday, though, Trump kept relatively quiet about the meeting. His campaign released a joint statement with Ryan’s office that called for unity within the GOP around a conservative agenda and against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Trump later tweeted that “things are working out really well!”
Ryan remains the top GOP elected official who has yet to back Trump. His job as speaker of the House also grants him the chairmanship of the Republican National Convention in July. Ryan’s office said earlier in the week that the longtime lawmaker would be willing to back out of his role in Cleveland should Trump ask.
Media circus
The scene on the street outside of Trump’s meetings, held a stone’s throw from the Capitol at RNC headquarters, resembled a media circus. Dozens of reporters and camera operators huddled on the sidewalk while protesters from groups such as CODEPINK donned signs such as “Trump is a Racist.” One protester wore a papier-mache head modeled after the billionaire and carried moneybags.
A small group of supporters, meanwhile, played the bagpipes and blew a horn.
Georgia’s 10 Republican congressmen and two GOP senators did not participate in the Thursday meetings, but several said later in the day that they were pleased the candidate was reaching out to figures across the party.
“I think it’s what he’s supposed to be doing,” said U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville. “He’s the Republican nominee, and I think building bridges is a good thing because we all need to work together.”
U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., who in the past has drawn parallels between his run for the Senate as a business-oriented political outsider in 2014 and Trump's presidential bid, said he is "distressed" that people continue to focus on divisions within the GOP.
“The real story is how do we change the direction of our country,” Perdue said, echoing talking points he’s emphasized in recent floor speeches. “How do we deal with this global security crisis? How do we deal with this debt crisis? And how will the Republican leadership actually do anything different than what we’ve seen the last seven years? That’s the story that we ought to be talking about, because that’s high ground and we’ve got all the proof that we need that the direction that we’re going in is failing.”
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, also sought to capitalize on the visit from afar.
They released a report they dubbed the “Trump Textbook” on the candidate’s various policy positions and how they could be politically perilous. The chamber’s top Democrat also took to the Senate floor to slam McConnell for endorsing Trump.
“Since Senator McConnell has so enthusiastically embraced Trump, we can only assume he agrees with Trump’s view that women are dogs and pigs,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, according to the publication Roll Call.
