Politics

Trump Says Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell Love Him

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Juliegrace Brufke Capitol Hill Reporter
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President-elect Donald Trump said House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell love him, despite what appeared to be a tense relationship during the course of the election, while meeting with staffers at The New York Times Tuesday.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked GOP leadership, particularly Ryan, referring to them as “naive” and “weak,” but assured those at the meeting that all such talk was past. He went on to praise incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying he likes the New York Democrat.

“‘Paul Ryan, right now, loves me. Mitch McConnell loves me,’ Trump says. Then says, ‘I’ve liked Chuck Schumer for a long time,'” Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted.

 

Ryan, a longtime friend of Vice President-elect Mike Pence, has reportedly been in constant communication with the Trump transition team to put together a legislative plan for his first 100 days.

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning he planned to cancel the meeting with the Times, but later announced he planned to attend. The president-elect has been largely critical of the paper on social media, tweeting that he thought it had “very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the ‘Trump phenomena.”‘ It appears he had a change of heart about the publication during the course of the event, reportedly calling it “a great great American jewel — world jewel” after taking questions from reporters.

The gathering follows an off-the-record meeting with top media figures Monday, where he reportedly told the outlets they were ” deceitful” and “dishonest.”

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