Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) sent a clear message this morning to Donald Trump and that was stop talking about “riots.” We might just be getting a preview of how the relationship between President Trump and Speaker Ryan might play out.
It was as of our count that Ryan has condemned Donald Trump this week for talking about what might happen if he doesn’t get the nomination at the summers convention in Cleveland. Ryan remains the GOP establishment’s first choice as a compromise candidate should their not be a clear winner between Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, heading into Cleveland.
For his part Ryan has been clear that he wants no part of running for president but he clearly is not going to allow Trump to be in charge.
This morning the Speaker made things very clear “Nobody should say such things in my opinion,” Ryan told reporters in the Capitol, “because to even address or hint at violence is unacceptable.”
Ryan is the chairman of the Republican National Convention and while he has refrained from supporting or endorsing a candidate he has not shied away from taking on the party’s frontrunner on a number of issues.
On Monday, Ryan suggested Trump needed to take some responsibility for some of the violence that has broken out at his recent rallies, calling it “very concerning.” Ryan recently scolded Trump for failing to forcefully disavow an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Plus, Ryan was one of the first to condemn Trump for his proposing a ban on Muslims from entering the United States, calling it unconstitutional and un-American.
“If anybody, not just Donald Trump, if anybody is out there representing the Republican party in ways that we believe disfigures conservatism … I, as a party leader, and others I assume as well have an obligation to defend our principles from being distorted. And we’re going to continue doing that,” Ryan said this morning.
Despite his issues with Trump at least for now he remains committed to supporting the party’s nominee even if it is Trump.
