Trump, Ryan pledge to work together

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday the two were "totally committed" to cooperation.

"While we were honest about our few difference, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground," said Trump and Ryan in a joint statement after their first meeting since Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee.

"We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there's a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal," said the statement.

The "very encouraging" meeting with Trump, as described by Ryan here at a press conference, came amid deepened rift between the two after Ryan said last week that he was "not ready" right now to endorse Trump, a candidate famous for his bombastic style and incendiary remarks.

The highest-ranking GOP officeholder's reservations about the party's standard-bearer sent shock waves through the party, and underscored the uphill battle Trump was now facing to repair the fractured GOP in the wake of a chaotic primary season.

Four previous GOP presidential nominees, namely George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney had already announced that they wouldn't attend the GOP National Convention in July when Trump would be formally nominated.

Trump first drew widespread criticism last June when he said in his presidential announcement speech that Mexico was sending "rapists" and drug dealers to the United States. Since that, he had repeatedly vowed, if elected president, to deport about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

In another outburst of emotional remarks, Trump called for a "total and complete" ban on Muslims entering the United States in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015.

Since then, the targets of Trump's insults expanded to include women, African-American protesters, family members of rivals, etc.

According to a list compiled by The New York Times, Trump had insulted on Twitter 210 individuals, places and things since declaring his presidential candidacy last June.

The Times list did not include targets of Trump's insults broadcasted on cable.

Despite the urgency to unite the divided GOP, Trump indicated in his recent interview with the New York Times that he had a "mandate" from his supporters to continue his candidacy as a "fiery populist outsider."

"You win the pennant and now you're in the World Series - you gonna change?" said Trump to The Times. "People like the way I'm doing."