Ryan 'Can't Tell' Whether Presidential Campaign Has Made Race Relations 'Better or Worse'

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) said today he doesn’t “think we’re in a good place right now” with race relations related to the presidential campaign, but “I can’t tell you whether it’s gotten better or worse.”

Ryan called police shootings of black men in Tulsa and Charlotte “heartbreaking.”

“And this country has to find new ways of learning how to heal and understand all the different perspectives,” he told CBS’ Face the Nation. “And we have a working group on this. They were in Detroit last week doing listening sessions. They’re now all doing ride-alongs with the police. And what we’re trying to do is quietly and calmly come together and find where we can find some common solutions.”

Ryan said he didn’t “want to make the case that the federal government can just pass a law and this is all going to go away.”

“I think what we need to do is make sure that we go into communities, listen, learn, identify local home-grown solutions, support them, and then see if we can find good solutions that can be replicated in other areas,” he said.

Asked about race relations in America, the speaker said “we have made great progress over the years — and we still have a long ways to go.”

“And I think what it is, is, we have to learn. Each of us have to get better perspectives, get outside of our comfort zones, understand what other people are thinking and saying and what they see, and then try and come up with common-ground solutions,” Ryan added.

He said Donald Trump has offered an inclusive vision to America “in certain areas.”

“I think — I’m glad that he’s making inroads into the African-American community, the minority community,” Ryan said. “I think the effort is very important. Half of it is just showing up, showing up and trying and learning and listening.”