Sorry, Paul Ryan. Donald Trump is now 'Mr. Republican.'
OK, the election is over and Donald Trump won.
No, not the Election Day election that determines who sits in the White House. The one before that, for 鈥淢r. Republican,鈥� the titular leader of the party, its primary face to the rank-and-file and the nation at large.
House Speaker Paul Ryan was Mr. Trump鈥檚 opponent. (That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e using 鈥淢r.,鈥� and not鈥� Mr. or Ms.鈥� It was an all-male final.) Remember, Representative Ryan declined to endorse Trump earlier this month, saying he wanted to make sure the GOP had 鈥渁 standard-bearer that bears our standards.鈥�
But ordinary Republicans aren鈥檛 waiting for Ryan to pass judgment. They鈥檙e already coalescing around Trump. The latest poll to show that is a newly released in which 80 percent of GOP voters say their leaders should support Trump, even if they have significant differences on issues.
Eighty percent! That鈥檚 a blow to Ryan鈥檚 view of what Republicans should stand for. After all, if any Republican leader has significant differences with Trump on issues, it鈥檚 Mitt Romney鈥檚 former running mate.
Ryan is in favor of trimming and restructuring Social Security; Trump says it shouldn鈥檛 be touched. Ryan鈥檚 a free trader; Trump says other countries are 鈥渞ipping us off.鈥�
Trump wants to temporarily ban non-citizen Muslims from entering the US. Ryan has said that proposal is 鈥渘ot what this party stands for and not what this country stands for.鈥�
On this last point, many GOP voters side with Trump. Exit polls showed that 69 percent of Republicans who voted in the Pennsylvania primary supported the Muslim ban. The corresponding figure for New York was 68 percent; and in Florida, 64 percent.
What鈥檚 all this mean? We鈥檇 guess that in the end it indicates Ryan will find a way to endorse Trump without Trump actually changing any of his own policies. Their meeting last week in Washington seemed to indicate things were already trending in that direction. The House speaker will remain co-chair of the Republican National Convention. He won鈥檛 stalk off the podium in a huff.
And more broadly it means the party will probably follow its voters鈥� wishes and unite behind Trump, #NeverTrump notwithstanding. The party is the voters, after all.
