Trump, however, frequently breaks from Republican positions in his rhetoric, which has sowed doubts about how likely he would be to defer to a Republican-led Congress.
Trump, who won contests in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii on Tuesday, acknowledged that differences remain with Ryan and many congressional Republicans on some issues.
He was asked in an interview Tuesday on MSNBC how far he’d embrace the House Republican agenda, including Ryan’s push on alleviating poverty and overhauling Social Security and Medicare.
Trump asserted at least some of the differences can be negotiated.
"Well, I’d be talking to him," Trump said of Ryan. "Again, I don’t agree with them on all of these things and I certainly don’t agree on the border because I’m much stronger on the border than they are and they have a different -- well, they have a different feeling as to what should take place on the border," said Trump.
Negotiating Room
The billionaire noted that Republican rival Senator Ted Cruz has tried to make an issue of Trump’s willingness to negotiate on issues -- which he said should be regarded as a positive attribute, not a negative one.
"Let me tell you, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Trump said. “You’re supposed to gather people around and make great deals.”
"I want to make great deals for my side of the equation. But otherwise you’re just going to have a stagnant country like you do right now. You have no negotiation. You have Washington is in total gridlock," he said.
"So I will," said Trump.