As House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Donald Trump prepare to meet Thursday  for the first time since Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a new poll suggests that Trump has the upper hand in popularity among the party faithful.  

A poll released Wednesday by YouGov/The Economist shows that GOP voters like the billionaire mogul better than they like Ryan. It also found that two-thirds of respondents think Ryan should endorse Trump.  

Ryan has so far declined to put his considerable weight in the party behind the presumptive nominee, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper last week that he was just “not ready”  to make an endorsement. But since then, the Wisconsin Republican has faced increasing pressure to reverse course, according to several reports. And Ryan himself has hinted that he is considering a softened tone .  

[Ryan ‘Not Ready’ to Support Trump]

“We need a real unification of our party,” he told reporters in the Capitol Wednesday. “I want to be a part of that unifying process.”  

The poll surveyed voters who participated or who plan to participate in the Republican primaries and caucuses. It found that 64 percent of respondents said Ryan should endorse Trump. 49 percent of those voters had a favorable opinion of Ryan compared to the 69 percent who viewed the Manhattan businessman favorably.  

The poll was conducted between May 6 and 9 and had a margin of error of 3 percent.    

Contact Akin at stephanieakin@cqrollcall.com and follow her on Twitter at @stephanieakin.

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