After House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) admitted that he’s given up on his “pissing match” with President Donald Trump, an MSNBC panel that included two former GOP operatives unloaded on him for acquiescing.
“His weakness is just extraordinary,” former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said. While Ryan is a “good” and “moral” person, he’s become “supine” in the face of Trump.
“He’s weak, he’s feeble, unlike anybody who has ever held the position of speaker of the house,” John McCain’s former presidential campaign manager said.
“This is a constitutional office with immense power, second in line to the presidency,” Schmidt continued. “When you see the abdication of responsibility to the country from the Republican leadership, it is galling, it is appalling, and his legacy will be a shameful one because of it.”
David Jolly, a Republican who was a representative from the state of Florida until 2017, said that he was in the room when Ryan was elected Speaker of the House — and that even then, the leader said he didn’t want it and wasn’t sure he would do a good job.
“I think what we’re seeing with his resignation is this is no longer Paul Ryan’s party and he knows it, whether he’s willing to say that or not,” the former congressman said. “This is Donald Trump’s party, not Paul Ryan’s.”
Jolly went on to call Ryan a “for-profit Republican” for his role in enacting Trump’s corporate tax bill.
Watch below, via MSNBC:
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to:
[email protected].