Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan said he believed Donald Trump would not secure the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and expected the party’s voters to realize he had little chance in the general election.
Ryan, whose disdain for Trump has been long-standing and well-documented, made the remarks Thursday in an interview with The Insight Series for TeneoConsulting, where he holds the position of Vice President.
“Whether he runs or not, I don’t really know if it matters,” Ryan said of Trump, who has been teasing his potential presidential bid for months. “He wouldn’t be the candidate, I don’t think so.”
“I think Trump’s unelectability will be apparent by then,” Ryan said of the 2024 primary.
We all know he’s going to lose, or let me put it this way: We all know he’s more likely to lose the White House than anyone else running for president on our side. Why would we want to go through with it?
Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan said he believes Donald Trump will not secure the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, saying that “not being elected would be obvious.”
Trump has been teasing his potential presidential candidacy for several months, but has not officially announced his candidacy
Ryan argued that Trump has only maintained so much influence in the Republican Party “because everyone fears him”.
They fear that he will come after them and harm their ambition. “Once you start with a herd mentality, you can’t stop it,” Ryan said.
Ryan, who ran as vice president on Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 slate, has been a staunch critic of Trump, though he reluctantly endorsed Trump’s 2016 candidacy after he secured the Republican nomination.
Trump blasted Ryan as “disloyal” in the final weeks of the 2016 election, after Ryan disavowed his candidacy after a video from 2005 surfaced that depicted Trump bragging about groping women.
However, in the first half of Trump’s presidency, Ryan led the GOP majority in the House of Representatives and had a tenuous working relationship with Trump, working with him to pass major tax cuts.
Ryan declined to seek re-election to Congress in 2018, when the Republicans lost their majority in the House of Representatives.
Trump and Ryan have a long-standing mutual distaste for each other, even though Ryan led House Republicans in the first two years of Trump’s term. They are seen above in November 2016
In the interview this week, Ryan predicted the 2024 Republican presidential nomination field would be crowded — but said candidates would be reluctant to be the first to announce.
I think people will delay their decisions, they will wait for someone else to make the first move to take Trump’s wrath, to hound this person and try to hurt him with MAGA voters, so they can follow through. behind, said Ryan.
“But someone who gets into the race early can organize early, can sign up supporters early, can sign up donors early, can get a better jump, so it’s the complete prisoner’s dilemma,” he added.
“There are a few people who run, because it’s the only course they can run on. They can’t wait until 2028,” said Ryan. They must go now, if they are ever going. And they don’t want to die without ever trying.
Aside from Trump, the Republicans seen as likely candidates in 2024 are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Larry Hogan of Maryland.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are also seen as likely to seek the nomination.
Aside from Trump, the Republicans seen as likely candidates in 2024 are Florida Governors Ron DeSantis (C), South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Maryland’s Larry Hogan.
Ryan’s remarks came in a conversation with Kevin Kajiwara (left), an executive director at Teneo, the consulting firm where Ryan is vice chairman.
After former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard publicly quit the Democratic Party this week, some odds makers are positioning her as the third potential GOP presidential nominee, after Trump and DeSantis.
It is also believed that former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is looking forward to making an offer.
In his remarks Thursday, Ryan also predicted that Republicans would take back control of the House of Representatives, saying the Senate’s future remains less clear.
He also said the size of the Republican House majority would depend on swing voters in the suburbs, who dislike Trump but worry about the direction of the economy under the Democrats.
Ryan predicted that if voters focused more on the economy in the final weeks before the November 8 election, Republicans would make stronger gains.
“Right now, the polls show it’s more about the economy, which is why the Democrats are going to do everything they can to make it about Trump,” he said.
“It’s the weapon the Democrats have against us, it’s the club against us, especially in our swing districts,” Ryan said.
“So the question is, is it in the news, in the know, in front of our faces on TV, ten, five, two days out, or not?”
