Paul Ryan Stands By Donald Trump While Brushing Off The Endorsement Snub

As the Republican party tries to lick its wounds after the parade of Donald Trump sound bites this week, House speaker Paul Ryan is standing by the billionaire mogul steadfast, even though he doesn’t care if he gets his approval. That’s what Ryan says, anyway.

Like a teenager who is too cool for school, Ryan said he didn’t even want Trump’s support for his Wisconsin reelection campaign. In his first interview (with WTAQ in Green Bay, Wisconsin) since Trump refused to endorse Ryan and John McCain in their reelections, Ryan made it clear that he will stand up for Republican issues, and Trump’s support is not a “blank check.” He remained committed to Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, saying this is who the people voted for:

“We are a grassroots party; we aren’t a superdelegate party. We are a party where the grassroots Republican primary voter selects our nominee. And that’s as it should be…. And I think there’s something to be said about respecting those voters.”

The Speaker of the House is quick to change the subject, expressing disappointment at how Trump just doesn’t go after Hillary Clinton:

“He’s had a pretty strange run since the convention. You would think that we want to be focusing on Hillary Clinton, on all of her deficiencies. She is such a weak candidate that one would think that we would be on offense against Hillary Clinton, and it is distressing that that’s not what we’re talking about these days.”

However, Ryan called out Trump’s apparent disrespect for Gold Star families (the Khans) and he does not endorse many of Trump’s statements. Ryan’s blind support of Trump has been met with harsh criticism from opponents and Republicans, who looked to Ryan to right the shaky GOP ship. But he has deflected questions about why he can still support Trump, even in the midst of his controversial statements and Trump’s own disses of Ryan.

(Via The Washington Post)

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