Unshackled Trump poses threat to Ryan
Unshackled Trump poses threat to Ryan
By Scott Wong - 10/12/16 06:00 AM EDT
By attacking Ryan on Twitter as disloyal and a “weak and ineffectual leader,” Trump is setting up the Wisconsin lawmaker as the scapegoat for a possible Election Day disaster. Trump’s actions could turn his millions of die-hard followers against Ryan and ruin the 46-year-old Speaker’s political prospects.
"I don’t really want his support. This happens all the time — if you sneeze he calls up and announces, isn’t that a terrible thing.
So look, I don’t want his support, I don’t care about his support," Trump said during an interview Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" where he attacked the Speaker repeatedly.
In effect, Trump is trying to extinguish one of the GOP’s brightest young stars and tarnish the political brand of a man many mainstream Republicans still hope will one day run for president.
From his bully pulpit, Ryan is perhaps best-positioned to lead the party out of the ashes of a Trump defeat on Nov. 8.
That’s if Ryan, Mitt Romney’s 2012 vice presidential pick, even gets the opportunity.
A Democratic wave election, spurred by a backlash against Trump, could sweep Ryan right out of the Speaker’s office.
While such a result remains unlikely, Democrats retaking the House is a possibility both parties are now considering.
Even if the GOP holds the House, Ryan will still have to contend with Trump’s grassroots acolytes and his loyalists in Congress — some of whom may call for the Speaker’s ouster in January.
That public floor vote will take place a little more than a year after conservatives tossed out his predecessor, former Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio).
READ MORE: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/300526-u...
By Scott Wong - 10/12/16 06:00 AM EDT
By attacking Ryan on Twitter as disloyal and a “weak and ineffectual leader,” Trump is setting up the Wisconsin lawmaker as the scapegoat for a possible Election Day disaster. Trump’s actions could turn his millions of die-hard followers against Ryan and ruin the 46-year-old Speaker’s political prospects.
"I don’t really want his support. This happens all the time — if you sneeze he calls up and announces, isn’t that a terrible thing.
So look, I don’t want his support, I don’t care about his support," Trump said during an interview Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" where he attacked the Speaker repeatedly.
In effect, Trump is trying to extinguish one of the GOP’s brightest young stars and tarnish the political brand of a man many mainstream Republicans still hope will one day run for president.
From his bully pulpit, Ryan is perhaps best-positioned to lead the party out of the ashes of a Trump defeat on Nov. 8.
That’s if Ryan, Mitt Romney’s 2012 vice presidential pick, even gets the opportunity.
A Democratic wave election, spurred by a backlash against Trump, could sweep Ryan right out of the Speaker’s office.
While such a result remains unlikely, Democrats retaking the House is a possibility both parties are now considering.
Even if the GOP holds the House, Ryan will still have to contend with Trump’s grassroots acolytes and his loyalists in Congress — some of whom may call for the Speaker’s ouster in January.
That public floor vote will take place a little more than a year after conservatives tossed out his predecessor, former Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio).
READ MORE: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/300526-u...
