Ryan Pleads With Trump: Talk Up Economy, Not Immigration Issue

House Speaker Paul Ryan pleaded unsuccessfully with President Donald Trump to shift his message in the final hours before Tuesday's midterm election to the economy from immigration, Politico reports.

Ryan's request came in a phone call with Trump on Sunday, Politico says.

Ryan and others in the GOP are concerned that Trump's single-minded focus on immigration will help the Democrats and hurt Republicans, all but ensuring a blue wave in the House and Senate.

While Republicans were initially supportive of Trump's focus, now they are concerned that some aspects of his push, including a vow to end birthright citizenship by executive order, an issue that fired up the conservative base, is backfiring.

They now see a need for the president to shift to a more positive message about his accomplishments.

Some Trump surrogates, however, have been offering alternative messages to try to shift focus to the administration's accomplishments.

White House Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway, for instance, insisted Sunday on "Fox & Friends," that the "booming economy" under Trump will be the "winning formula for Tuesday."

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