Topline
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) placed the blame for Republicans’ underperformance during the midterm elections squarely at the feet of former President Donald Trump, calling himself a “never-again Trumper” in a new interview that adds to the growing chorus of prominent Republicans accusing the former president of negatively influencing the election.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, walks with President Donald Trump as they head to a … [+]
Key Facts
The “biggest factor” in the GOP’s underwhelming midterm results was “the Trump factor,” Ryan told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in an interview aired Sunday on This Week, adding “I think we would clearly have won the Senate had we had traditional Republicans in the general election.”
The party would have won more races had their candidates been “typical traditional conservative Republicans” rather than “Trump Republicans,” Ryan said, pointing to consequential Senate contests the GOP lost in Arizona, where incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D) defeated Trump-endorsed Blake Masters (R), and Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) beat Trump-backed Mehmet Oz, (R) to flip the seat for Democrats.
Ryan noted the string of Republican losses in recent years that Trump was involved in: The GOP lost majority control of the House of Representatives in 2018, lost the Senate and the presidential election in 2020 “and now, in 2022, we should have and could have won the Senate . . . and we have a much lower majority in the House.”
Ryan predicted Republicans would lose the 2024 presidential election if Trump won the party’s nomination and said he is confident voters will select another candidate.
Key Background
Trump, who announced his intent to run for president for a third time in 2024, has faced backlash from GOP power players in the weeks since the midterm election over his chosen candidates’ failures to win races. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), both Trump critics, have also tied the GOP’s midterm losses to Trump, while his other Republican allies, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), have not said whether they will endorse him for president in 2024. GOP megadonors who previously aligned with Trump, including Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, said they will not financially support his campaign. Ryan, who clashed with Trump while the two were in office together, has previously expressed his discontent with Trump’s comeback bid, telling Fox Business in October he does not think Trump will clinch the GOP’s 2024 nomination.
Tangent
Ryan said McCarthy, who was nominated last week to become the next House speaker, will be hard-pressed to pass legislation with such a “razor-thin majority” in the House, where Republicans have won the 218 seats to lead the lower chamber, but will likely only have a single-digit advantage once the six remaining races are called. “No matter what bill you are gonna bring to the floor, it is almost impossible with that tight of a majority to have only your party passing legislation,” Ryan said, adding that the slim majority will also unify the party.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2022/11/20/i-am-a-never-again-trumper-paul-ryan-blames-former-president-for-gop-midterm-losses/