Donald Trump says he was “blindsided” by House Speaker Paul Ryan’s recent comments that he is “just not ready” to support the presumptive Republican nominee.
In an interview with NBC News’s Chuck Todd, Trump explained, “I like Paul Ryan. I think he’s a very good guy. He called me three weeks ago, and he was so supportive. It was amazing. And I never thought a thing like this. I got blindsided by this.”
Ryan “couldn’t have been nicer” during their conversation, according to Trump.
A spokesperson for Speaker Ryan disputed Trump's claim about the timing and content of the conversation. According to Ryan's office, the last time the two spoke was during the first week of March and they spoke about the Speaker's agenda. When asked for a clarification, Trump's campaign manager confirmed that the conversation Trump was referring to was that March chat.
Trump says he doesn’t know the current Speaker of the House very well, but that they have a “nice relationship.”
“And then all of a sudden, he gets on and he does this number,” Trump continued. “So I’m not exactly sure what he has in mind. But that’s okay.”
Speaker Ryan’s office confirmed that the two are set to have a meeting on Thursday in Washington, DC.
The full interview with Donald Trump airs Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."