While presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump was on one television network indicating his willingness to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan over his hesitation to endorse him, his national campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson was on another network agreeing with a reporter's question if his reluctance means he's not "fit to be Speaker."
"No, because this is about the party," Pierson replied to
CNN's John Berman on the "New Day" program Friday morning. "We were told to hold our noses and vote for the sake of the party. These same people are now telling us that because their guy didn't win, they want to hurt the party."
But in the last two presidential cycles, non-conservative choices were pushed, she insisted.
"You have to understand, the last two presidential cycles, we were told John McCain was a conservative. His conservative score card was a 37 percent," she told Berman. "We were told Mitt Romney was a conservative, and he was pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-adoption, and gave us Obamacare."
And, she continued, "if you can't hold yourself to the standard that you're holding everyone else, the problem is you."
Trump and Ryan are to meet next week, and Pierson told Berman that she believes Trump will tell Ryan that "you are not just against me, you are against a lot of your voters."
And Ryan's reduction is "indicative" of what has been going on in the Republican Party, said Pierson.
"You have had the leadership rejecting its own voters, " Pierson said. "Silencing them, ignoring them, campaigning on one issue and not following through. That's why we have a nomination of Donald Trump."
She concluded that rather than it being on Trump to bring unity to the party, it's "incumbent" on Ryan to do that instead.
Earlier Friday morning, Trump told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program, though, that he's "fine" with Ryan's comments, but added the
he was "surprised" because his candidacy is responsible for "millions of people coming into the party."
But shortly after his appearance on the show, he went back to disagreeing with Ryan on Twitter.
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