Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, now a Fox News board member, has once again targeted former President Donald Trump. Despite their previous policy collaborations, Ryan has become a vocal critic of Trump in recent years.
The retired Wisconsin congressman and one-time vice presidential nominee played a crucial role in passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and a partial repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act; nonetheless, he took aim at Trump on Tuesday. Appearing on Fox News' “Your World,” Ryan explained why he wouldn't be voting for the presumptive Republican nominee. He added that Trump is now “the establishment” and should behave accordingly.
Mediaite's Charlie Nash explained how Ryan, who described himself as an “anti-establishment Republican,” accused Trump of putting himself over the Constitution. Ryan also blamed Trump for recent Republican electoral losses.
The comments led host Neil Cavuto to say, “Well, he doesn't like you either.”
Cavuto then confronted Ryan – who, as the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, has long been seen by Trump supporters as a face of the Republican establishment – with a post Trump made calling him a “loser” and “a pathetic RINO [Republican in Name Only].”
Ryan replied:
Look, I got death, taxes and weird stuff from Donald Trump. These are the three certainties in my life, so to me, it's just another day in my life. Look, fealty to Trump is what RINO is. Meaning, if you don't pledge fealty to this man, then you are a RINO. It used to mean a liberal Republican versus a conservative. I'm a conservative Republican. He's a populist, he's not a conservative. I want to see someone who has fidelity to principles. I would prefer a party that is based on principles, not personality or populism. This populism is untethered to principles and that's why, you know, I'm an anti-establishment Republican.
“He's cost us a lot of seats,” Ryan added. “He cost us the Senate twice. He cost us the House because he is pushing through the primaries people who cannot win general elections but who pledge fealty to him.”
Ryan also expressed his dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden, suggesting that voters face “terrible choices” in the upcoming election.
“In a country with 350 million people, this is the choice we have?” Ryan lamented. “I, like the majority of Americans, wish we had a different choice.”
“I have no personal animus towards the man,” Ryan said of Trump. “I think he got railroaded in this New York case, I don't want to see him go to jail, I don't have any personal animosity, I just don't think he should be president.”
At the same time, Ryan acknowledged that he agreed with a quote he had previously made about Trump when addressed by Cavuto.
Ryan described himself as an “anti-establishment Republican” during an interview with The Washington Post in February, as well.
At the time, he made a similar argument: “I'm frankly an anti-establishment Republican, and I think you can safely argue – I don't enjoy acknowledging this – that Trump is the establishment, and Trump populism is the establishment.”
Ryan seemed unfazed when confronted with viewer criticism by Cavuto.
One Republican who was annoyed was Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who called Ryan “garbage” following his appearance on Fox News.
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