There is less than one month before voters will go to the polls here in the United States and there is an all-out civil war going on in the Republican party. The presidential nominee Donald Trump and the Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). the Speaker of the House, the highest ranking member of the party are at war.
Let’s be clear, the relationship between the freewheeling Trump and the establishment, by the book, Ryan has never been a good one but it might just be all but gone. So, now things are likely beyond repair between the two men.
Monday, Speaker Ryan, put down his marker by dashing any remaining semblance of Republican unity and causing a civil war inhis own caucus by announcing that he would no longer defend Mr. Trump.
Ryan’s stance drew an immediate rebuke from Mr. Trump, who posted on Twitter that Mr. Ryan should focus on governing “and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have all but gone their separate ways. Ryan announced his intention to effectively cut Trump loose Monday and focus on the congressional majorities. Trump has resumed sniping at Ryan.
AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan, confirmed that his sole priority for the remainder of the election would be defending congressional Republicans. “The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities,” she said.
Each man had to be dragged kicking and screaming into endorsing the other. While technically neither endorsement has been retracted, both men now seem to be at square one.
The proximate cause of the latest split is the recording of Trump engaging in foul talk about women, the worst of which can be construed as describing sexual assault. Monday’s public polling confirmed what Republican internals no doubt showed after the story broke: that Trump has taken a big hit and threatens to drag Capitol Hill Republicans down with him.
For his part Trump wanted to let Ryan know that he was far from pleased by his not asking the House Republicans to support the top of the ticket. So, it was time for Trump to go to Twitter on let Ryan know that he was far from pleased.
Despite winning the second debate in a landslide (every poll), it is hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Our very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, had a bad conference call where his members went wild at his disloyalty.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016
Meanwhile, Sunday with his back to the wall Trump delivered a debate performance, that was aimed at push every button that the Republican base wanted pushed.
Grassroots conservatives have been waiting decades for a Republican leader to stand up on national television and tell that the Clintons exactly what he and the Right think of them. Trump did that, semi-successfully changing the subject from his bawdy talk with Billy Bush to Hillary Clinton’s emails and the women who have accused Bill Clinton of actually committing sexual assault.
It was a gambit that could have easily blown up in Trump’s face. Perhaps it still will, but it at least appeared that he made it off the stage in St. Louis having not only averted disaster but rallied his troops.
To mainstream Republicans in Washington, Trump is the man who confirms the worst stereotypes about what it means to be a Republican and who therefore may doom them for a generation with rising demographic groups.
Trump, has brought new voters into the fold while, many rank-and-file Republicans see it differently and they see Ryan as a traitor. They don’t trust their party’s leaders and governing class. They see a Democratic Party that fights for what it believes in while their own party heads for the tall grass at the first sign of mainstream media trouble.
“Sometimes, Republicans get a little weak-kneed,” Rudy Giuliani told reporters after the debate. “I happen to be a Republican with strong knees.”
VIDEO USED IN THIS STORY COURTESY OF CBS NEWS.
