Former House Speaker Paul Ryan advised the GOP to steer clear of the “populist appeal of one personality,” a thinly-veiled shot at fellow Republicans who support Donald Trump.
Ryan made his remarks Thursday in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
Though he didn’t mention the former President by name, his words could hardly be misinterpreted.
“Here’s one reality we have to face,” Ryan told Republicans. “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere.”
The former vice presidential nominee in 2012, according to the New York Times, set out to “obliquely criticize(e)” Trump and warn that “the only viable future for the fractured party was one unattached to the former president.”
“Here’s one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere,” fmr. House Speaker Paul Ryan says. https://t.co/wNgTzylnNw
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) May 28, 2021
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Paul Ryan Wants Republicans To Abandon Trump Supporters
Imagine the burden of being Mitt Romney-lite, without ever realizing you’re Mitt Romney-lite. Such is the plight of Paul Ryan in his quest to steer the Republican Party away from Donald Trump.
Even CNN scoffed at Ryan’s “Reaganite” speech saying “the power of Trump drowns out” his “call for change.”
It really is amazing that Paul Ryan, who is the reason the GOP lost the House in 2018, is going to come out today and blame Trump for the problems in the GOP.
Paul, the problem is you and your pal Liz.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 27, 2021
Ryan, in his speech, also advised the Republican Party to stand down on culture wars.
“[W]e conservatives have to be careful not to get caught up in every little cultural battle,” he said. “Sometimes these skirmishes are just creations of outrage peddlers, detached from reality and not worth anybody’s time.”
“They draw attention away from the far more important case we must make to the American people.”
Unfortunately, they also work for the left, leading to cancel culture and conservatives not having a voice in those skirmishes either in the entertainment world, in sports, in academia, in the federal bureaucracy, or with Big Tech and social media.
Conservatives are being silenced and Ryan wants you to continue whistling past the graveyard.
Republican voters had watched their party come to heel on the culture wars as Paul Ryan suggests for years which, at least partially, led to the rise of a fighter like Donald Trump who doesn’t roll over when he’s told to do so.
Paul Ryan confirms yet again he doesn’t know what time; he is living in 2005 and doesn’t understand, refuses to understand, what is taking place inside the GOP. https://t.co/a3DhGPcAsD
— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) May 27, 2021
RELATED: Paul Ryan Offers Advice on How Democrats Can Beat Trump in 2020
Ryan Says Trump’s Presidency Ended In Disgrace
In yet another shot at Trump, Paul Ryan went after the former President by referencing the Capitol protests that the media have propped up as a so-called ‘insurrection.’
Ryan said he found it “horrifying to see a presidency come to such a dishonorable and disgraceful end.”
He added that Republican voters would “not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.”
Better to see that than have the party led by ‘thank you, sir, may I have another’-men like Paul Ryan.
It is absolutely incorrect to pretend that there is a “Republican civil war” when the leading figure within the Republican Party has about 85% of that party’s support. https://t.co/sixSNGFBCC
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 27, 2021
It is, after all, fascinating to watch a man like Ryan advise Republicans on how to win elections going forward knowing he was a failed running mate of Romney’s and lost the House to Democrats in 2018.
It was Ryan who was in charge when Republicans controlled the House and failed utterly to repeal Obamacare.
He also betrayed Republican voters on the border wall during that time, according to Trump, when despite a pledge from the then-Speaker, he never secured funding.
“I was very disappointed in Paul because the wall was so desperately needed,” Trump said in a 2019 interview with the Daily Caller.
Today is a good day to remember Paul Ryan sabotaged Trump’s first two years in office because he’s a shameless swamp creature.
— thebradfordfile (@thebradfordfile) May 27, 2021
Trump Responds
Donald Trump responded to Paul Ryan’s attacks in a just-released statement. And he did not disappoint, focusing on Ryan’s penchant for losing elections.
“Paul Ryan has been a curse to the Republican Party,” Trump said. “He has no clue as to what needs to be done for our Country, was a weak and ineffective leader, and spends all of his time fighting Republicans as opposed to Democrats who are destroying our Country.”
“As a Republican, having Paul Ryan on your side almost guarantees a loss, for both you, the Party, and America itself!”
NEW Trump statement on Paul Ryan and more: pic.twitter.com/wj6hi9ONsb
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) May 28, 2021
Polls have shown Trump is an overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination if he runs for president again in 2024.
Ryan’s approval rating consistently declined during his time as House Speaker, and his inability to generate support with Republican voters and colleagues led to an early retirement from the House.
Which of these men do you find to be better suited in leading the party in the future?
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