Paul Ryan Says He Voted Early for Trump
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday he voted early for Donald Trump for president but has no plans to appear with the nominee with whom he’s had a tense relationship.
“I’m supporting our entire Republican ticket. I have been all along,” Ryan said on Fox News.
Trump plans to campaign in Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin on Tuesday night
with Governor Scott Walker. Ryan said he’s “just focusing on my primary responsibility, which is saving our House majority,” and will criss-cross the U.S. to campaign for down-ballot candidates.
In early October, Ryan had said he was “sickened” by a 2005 video that surfaced in which Trump bragged about groping women. The speaker disinvited Trump from a campaign event in Wisconsin at the time, but didn’t withdraw his endorsement. Trump then blasted him on Twitter as a “weak and ineffective leader.”
As Democrats grapple with the FBI’s renewed inquiry into the private e-mail practices of Hillary Clinton, Ryan said he had a warning, especially for young voters who don’t remember the Bill Clinton presidency of the 1990s.
“This is what life with the Clintons looks like. It’s always one scandal after another,” he said.
Ryan was elected speaker a year ago after conservative Republicans forced out former Speaker John Boehner, and at times Ryan himself has faced talk of an ouster by members unhappy about his criticisms of Trump.
“I serve at the pleasure of my members,” Ryan said on Fox Tuesday, while adding, “I’m very confident where I stand with my members.” Ryan, who took the top job reluctantly, said he has come to enjoy it. “I think you can make a big difference,” he said.
