Ryan: Republicans Should ‘Absolutely’ Follow Their Conscience On Trump

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., talks to reporters following a closed-door caucus meeting at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Tea party conser... Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., talks to reporters following a closed-door caucus meeting at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Tea party conservatives have blocked a budget plan backed by GOP leaders, a blow to Speaker Ryan and a reflection of the anti-Washington mood pushed by GOP front-runner Donald Trump. The move by the House Freedom Caucus, the same band of conservatives that toppled his predecessor, would mean that the House would fail to pass a budget for the first time since Republicans reclaimed control of the chamber in 2011.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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House Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview teased Friday that “the last thing” he would do is instruct Republicans to support Donald Trump regardless of their personal qualms.

“Absolutely,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that’s contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn’t do that.”

Ryan has endorsed Trump for president, and is the chair of this year’s Republican National Convention.

This isn’t the first time that Ryan has telegraphed some ambivalence about the presumptive GOP nominee. In previous comments, Ryan has said that his endorsement doesn’t constitute a “blank check” for Trump.

While he didn’t seem interested in heeding Trump’s call to Republican leaders to “be quiet” and fall in line, Ryan also has said that he has no plans to revoke his endorsement.

“I get that this a very strange situation,” he told NBC’s Chuck Todd, calling Trump “a very unique nominee. But I feel as a responsibility institutionally as the speaker of the House that I should not be leading some chasm in the middle of our party. Because you know what I know that’ll do? That’ll definitely knock us out of the White House.”

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