Paul Ryan says he is a ‘never-again Trumper’ after tough midterm losses
Jack Birle
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Former House Speaker Paul Ryan said he is a “never-again Trumper” less than a week after former President Donald Trump announced a third White House run.
Ryan expressed gratitude for his time working with Trump when they were both in office but said there are better options for 2024 in an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s This Week on Sunday.
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“I was not a ‘never Trumper,'” Ryan said. “I governed with him, and I am very proud of those days. I am proud of the accomplishments of the tax reform, deregulation, criminal justice reform. I am really excited about the judges we got on the bench, not just the Supreme Court but throughout the judiciary. But I am a ‘never-again Trumper.’ Why? Because I want to win. And we lose with Trump.”
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In his assessment of Republicans’ weak performance in the midterm elections, he pointed to what he called the “Trump factor” and highlighted the difference in the performance of Trump-backed candidates versus non-Trump Republicans.
“It’s pretty clear with Trump we lose. So I don’t mean this personally. It’s just evidence. We lost the House in ’18. We lost the presidency in ’20, we lost the Senate in ’20, and now, in 2022, we should have and could have won the Senate. We didn’t, and we have a much lower majority in the House because of that Trump factor. It’s palpable right now,” Ryan said. “We get past Trump, we start winning elections. We stick with Trump, we keep losing elections.”
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Since announcing his candidacy Tuesday, Trump has received pushback from several figures on the political Right who prefer other candidates for 2024.