House Speaker Paul Ryan didn't endorse Donald Trump yet, but the pair called it a step towards unity and decided to meet again. Ryan's 'encouraged' after Trump meeting, but no endorsement yet 'This was our first meeting, but it was a very positive step toward unification,' the two said afterward.

Paul Ryan and Donald Trump finally met. And they decided to have more meetings.

The highly anticipated summit Thursday between the top Republican elected official in the country and the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee produced a media frenzy, but yielded little in the way of tangible results.


Ryan, as expected, didn't endorse Trump. And it's clear major policy differences remain. But for now, the two are trying to display unity as they prepare for a fall battle with Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. With Republican control of the Senate on the line, as well as fears that Democrats could make big inroads into the House Republican majority — much less the battle for the White House itself — the stakes for both men are enormous. They need to find some means to cooperate, or at least appear amicable.

"The United States cannot afford another four years of the Obama White House, which is what Hillary Clinton represents. That is why it’s critical that Republicans unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda, and do all we can to win this fall," Trump and Ryan said in a joint statement following their hourlong meeting. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus hosted the session.

"While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground. We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal.

Ryan and Trump added: "This was our first meeting, but it was a very positive step toward unification."

At a news conference afterward, Ryan repeatedly ducked the question of whether he would formally back Trump, and if so, when.

He also made clear that he and Trump are still on different pages policy-wise, though he didn't get into details.

"Look, it's no secret that Donald Trump and I have had our differences. We talked about those differences today. That's common knowledge," Ryan told reporters. "The question is what is it that we need to do to unify the Republican Party and all strains of conservative wings in the party. We had a very good and encouraging, productive conversation on how to do that."

"I was very encouraged by what I heard from Donald Trump today," Ryan added. "This is a process, it takes a little time. You don't put it together in 45 minutes."

Trump took to his favorite medium, Twitter, to rave about his trip to Capitol Hill.

"Great day in D.C. with @SpeakerRyan and Republican leadership. Things working out really well! #Trump2016," he wrote.

Ryan acknowledged that there are bitter divisions within the party, and the schisms aren't going to magically disappear overnight.

"The process of unifying the Republican Party, which just finished a primary about a week ago, perhaps one of the most divisive primaries in memory, takes some time," Ryan said. "Look, there are people who were for Donald Trump, who were for Ted Cruz, for John Kasich, who were for Marco Rubio and everybody else, and it's very important that we don't fake unifying, we don't pretend unification."

Since Ryan has pointedly refused to endorse Trump so far — and has publicly challenged Trump several times over the former reality TV star's harsh rhetoric and controversial stances — Thursday's meeting was seen as a critical moment for the Wisconsin Republican, who has been widely talked about as a future presidential candidate himself.

Would Ryan become a loyal member of Trump’s Republican Party? Or would Ryan keep his distance from the bombastic GOP nominee, bucking much of the political establishment in an attempt to keep his brand intact?

It remains clear that Ryan will never fully embrace the Republican Party’s nominee, and is instead focused on his own policy agenda. Ryan will spend much of 2016 campaigning to keep the House majority and seek to avoid the daily back-and-forth of the presidential race.

Ryan, though, has found himself increasingly boxed in. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have all endorsed Trump. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), in a statement Thursday, called Trump "the better option."

And on Wednesday evening, House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), House Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.), House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) backed Trump. Price is a longtime political ally of Ryan’s.

Ryan personifies the split inside the Republican Party caused by Trump's stunning rise during the past year. Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee, is a serious policy wonk who has made a career out of building an image as a Ronald Reagan-Jack Kemp hybrid — ideologically stringent but with a sunny disposition. Trump, on the other hand, is an uber-rich political showman who has rejected much of the conservative agenda for his own cult of personality built on his assertion that he will make America and Americans winners again somehow.

Priebus, who sat in on the session, described the meeting on Twitter as "great. It was a very positive step toward party unity."

Ryan's colleagues, even those who back Trump, know he is going to proceed carefully in his dealings with the real estate mogul.

"Paul Ryan is not the kind of individual that after a single meeting is going to say, 'OK, now I understand everything I need to do, give me the flag, I'm going to go start running forward,'" Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) told CNN before the meeting.

As with any Trump appearance — but especially one with the stakes of today's event — there were hordes of media present, as well as pro and anti-Trump protesters.

Before Trump's arrival at the RNC building — he and Ryan went in the back door — a group of Hispanic protesters stood in front of the GOP headquarters bashing Trump's stand on undocumented immigrants. They chanted over a white and red banner that read "United We Dream" and "End Deportation." Others held signs that read "The GOP: The Party of Trump." Or "Rabbis Against Trump."

"Make way for Donald Trump!" claimed another protester holding a pink sign that read "Trump is a Racist." Following her was a man in an oversize papier-mâché mask of Trump, carrying money bags.

Security was tight around GOP headquarters as Trump's meetings with GOP brass kicked off. A wall of Secret Service agents and U.S. Capitol Police officers kept reporters and and protesters away from the entrance used by Trump and Ryan.

The Ryan-Trump tête-à-tête began promptly at 9 a.m. By 9:30, McCarthy and the rest of the House GOP leadership team had slipped into RNC headquarters as well. The broader meeting began at 10 and lasted for 35 minutes.

McConnell and Senate GOP leaders were set to met with Trump after that.

The spectacle — hundreds of reporters and TV cameras, as well as the protesters only a couple blocks from the Capitol — was too much to resist, even for lawmakers.

Former Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), now a lobbyist, stood on the sidewalk gawking like everyone else. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) stopped to snap a photo of the scene with his phone.

Rachael Bade contributed to this report.

