Pence brushes off question about GOP endorsements

Phoenix — Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence isn’t addressing GOP tensions after running mate Donald Trump refused to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Pence spoke at a town hall event Tuesday night in Phoenix and then took some questions from the few hundred people there but didn’t mention the endorsement snub.

An Associated Press reporter later asked Pence if he would endorse McCain or Ryan while the candidate was signing autographs and posing for selfies with supporters. Pence appeared to ignore the question and kept moving down the line.

Pence and McCain met for 25 minutes Tuesday evening, Pence’s press secretary, Marc Lotter, said in a statement. The statement did not address the endorsement issue. It noted the long relationship between the veteran politicians and said they “discussed many issues facing the United States and the need for strong American leadership to defeat radical Islamic terrorism and ISIS.”

Trump told The Washington Post that he’s “just not quite there yet” when asked about an endorsement of Ryan, who faces a primary election next week. In that interview, Trump also declined to support McCain’s re-election.