Key meeting: Much will turn on what is said between Ryan and Trump

When House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sit down to talk Thursday in Washington there will be much at stake.

Ryan has said he is not ready to announce his full support of Trump's candidacy and that he wants to get to know Trump better before making a decision. Trump has been critical of the traditional GOP leadership which Ryan represents but has said he is not worried about Ryan's leading the Republican convention, which is most likely going to tap Trump as its choice for November.

But the convention and the 2016 campaign are not all that is at stake. The future of the Republican Party is also on the table.

Will Ryan accede to Trump's pull with voters and admit that he represents a new wave of conservatism, or will he still withhold his support of the brash billionaire?

Will Trump bend a bit and actually try to tone down his rhetoric, reconsider his stance on some issues and become more of a mainstream Republican who will work at healing a fractured party?

Whatever comes of the meeting will go a long way in determining who occupies the White House, and in which direction the GOP will go after November.

Published in Editorials on May 11, 2016 11:16 AM