The fallout from the “Trump Tapes” are coming in from across the party. Now, the GOP’s highest-ranking member is walking back his support, which threatens to tear the party apart just before the November election.
Speaker Paul Ryan told House Republicans on a conference call Monday morning that he’s done defending Donald Trump and will focus on maintaining his party’s increasingly imperiled House majority, according to sources on the call.
The message amounted to a concession by the highest-ranking elected Republican that his nominee for president can’t win — and lawmakers should save themselves and the Republican-controlled Congress to act as a check on Hillary Clinton.
Story Continued BelowRyan stopped short of formally rescinding his endorsement of Trump — but just short. His move carries immense risk, and Ryan faced blowback from all sides: Trump and his surrogates warned Republican leaders they would pay a price for breaking from the nominee; some rank-and-file Republicans warned the strategy was a mistake; and immediately after the call, Clinton tweeted to her nearly 10 million followers that “Ryan is still endorsing Trump.”
Trump tweeted after the call that “Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee.” And a Trump supporter in the House, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, sharply criticized Republican leaders on the call for not doing enough to support Trump, sources said.
While he isn’t rescinding his endorsement, calling your party nominee’s actions sickening might be worse. It could not only throw the election, but the GOP’s chance of retaining the Senate, as well.
Source: Politico
