US presidency 2016: Donald Trump unleashes his charm on critics

For a day at least, Donald Trump ­silenced his party’s sceptics with a series of private meetings with leading Republicans.

House Speaker Paul Ryan after his meeting with Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is winning over his Capitol Hill critics after a one-day charm offensive that again demonstrates the power of his personality to drive his White House bid.

Mr Trump’s closed-door ­charisma triggered a fresh wave of Republican optimism across Washington yesterday, even as deep ­concerns remain about the notoriously unpredictable New York billionaire’s evolving policy ­prescriptions and brash tone heading into the general election.

For a day at least, Mr Trump ­silenced his own party’s sceptics with a series of private meetings with leading congressional ­Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan among them, on their turf. Afterwards, the presumptive nominee praised the very establishment he has spent months bashing at his raucous rallies.

“We had a great meeting today, and I think we agree on a lot of things,” Mr Trump told Fox News of his meeting with Mr Ryan.

The day marked a step forward for leaders desperate to unify a fractured Republican Party. GOP leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate ­offered an overwhelmingly ­positive response that focused largely on Mr Trump’s charm ­behind closed doors, while acknowledging that differences remain.

“I thought he has a very good personality. He’s a very warm and genuine person,” said Mr Ryan, who declined to endorse Mr Trump after the meeting at the ­Republican National Committee headquarters but suggested he was moving in that direction.

“We will have policy disputes. There is no two ways about that. The question is, can we unify on the common core principles that make our party.

“And I’m very encouraged that the answer to that question is yes.”

At the same time, Mr Trump signalled a willingness to moderate some of his more controversial positions, including his repeated call for a temporary ban on ­Muslims entering the US.

“It’s a temporary ban, it hasn’t been called for yet, nobody’s done it,” he said.

“This is just a suggestion until we find out what’s going on.”

And on trade, another key sticking point, Mr Trump said earlier in the week that his position was not all that different from that of the GOP establishment: “I don’t think we’re really far off. I just want to make great deals.”

The overwhelming focus in the meetings that opened late on Thursday Australian time, however, was personality.

“The secret weapon is his personality,” Trump adviser Barry Bennett said. “He just has a really big personally and when he looks at you and talks to you, he can own you.”

One of Mr Trump’s most ­aggressive Washington critics, South Carolina senator Lindsey ­Graham, seemed to agree.

“He’s got a great sense of ­humour,” said Senator Graham, who spoke to Mr Trump on the phone ahead of the meetings. Not long ago, he called Mr Trump a “nut job” and a “loser as a person”.

The senator softened his stand yesterday. He said he still would not endorse Mr Trump, but he said the billionaire had won the Republican ­nomination, so the “insults will stop with me”.

High-profile Republican critics remain, however, even if they were silent yesterday.

Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 nominee, lashed out at Mr Trump the day before for refusing to make public his tax returns and has vowed not to vote for him.

Like Mr Romney, former presidents ­George H.W. Bush and ­George W. Bush plan to avoid the party’s July national convention, where Mr Trump will formally ­become his party’s presidential nominee.

Former Romney adviser Kevin Madden said Mr Trump’s outreach may resonate with some ­Republicans who are “willing to listen in the interest of uniting the party ahead of the general ­election”.

But Mr Madden noted that ­Republican officials likely won’t blindly trust the political outsider.

“Reagan said ‘trust, but verify’, and that verification process will look differently depending on the Republican, but some are interested in trying to learn more,” he said.

“Hillary Clinton’s potential as a unifying force for even those ­uneasy about Trump should not be underestimated.”

Republican congressman Chris Collins was practically elated about how well everything went.

“A couple more meetings like this, a phone call or two, I think we’ll be all there,” Mr Collins said.

AP