Donald Trump has brushed off his Capitol Hill critics, declaring he doesn't need House Speaker Paul Ryan or other leery Republican leaders, even as he prepares to sit down with them.
His defiant message came amid new signs that he might be right, with GOP voters becoming more willing to embrace him.
"If we make a deal, that will be great," Trump told Fox News Channel when asked about Thursday's meeting with Ryan, who has so far refused to endorse him.
"And if we don't, we will trudge forward like I've been doing and winning all the time."
Trump's allies and advisers echoed his contention that he can claim the White House with or without leading congressional Republicans, who continue to express reservations about his tone and inconsistent policy prescriptions.
Their public differences are overshadowing Trump's efforts to broaden his political appeal as the next phase of the 2016 contest begins.
His likely November opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, still has Senator Bernie Sanders opposing her for her party's nomination. But she all but ignored him on Wednesday as she campaigned in Blackwood, New Jersey.
She focused instead on Trump's statement in an Associated Press interview that he doesn't plan to release his tax returns until an ongoing audit is completed.
Should Trump not release his returns before the November election it would mark a break from precedent for presidential nominees.
"So you've got to ask yourself why doesn't he want to release it? Yeah, well, we're going to find out," Clinton told supporters.
Meanwhile, more Republican voters appear to be moving behind Trump, despite big-name holdouts such as Ryan, both former president Bushes and the party's 2012 nominee Mitt Romney.
Almost two in three Republican-leaning voters now view Trump favourably, compared to 31 per cent who view him unfavourably, according to a national Gallup Poll taken last week. The numbers represent a near reversal from Gallup's survey in early March.
"Despite the contentious primary process, the party is healing itself and scabbing over," said Republican pollster Greg Strimple.
Ryan insisted that Republican Party unity is paramount, even if he's not yet willing to endorse the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee.
"What we're trying to do is be as constructive as possible and have a real unification," Ryan said at a Capitol Hill news conference on Wednesday.
"We have to be at full strength to win this election."
Trump is to meet with Republican leaders on Thursday morning at the Republican National Committee headquarters.
The private meetings represent his first tangible steps toward repairing his strained relationships with the nation's most powerful elected Republicans.
While Thursday's meetings may highlight party divisions, Trump's team sees them as a win-win.
They'd like to secure Ryan's support, but believe that signs of continued opposition from congressional Republicans would simply reinforce his outsider appeal.
Additionally, Trump's team doesn't believe Ryan or the GOP's other congressional leaders have any significant influence on the majority of general election voters.
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