Later, in an interview on Fox News, Ryan said the likelihood of a contested GOP convention was becoming “more likely” based on how the election is going. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently sent Ryan a “Trump Starter Kit”, complete with a copy of The Art of the Deal, the first season of “The Apprentice” and some antacid.
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Ryan has yet to use Trump’s name in one of his condemnations, opting instead for nebulous statements about what conservatism really is and what it is not.
Ryan for the first time acknowledged the likelihood, however, that none of the Republican candidates for president would accumulate the necessary delegates to secure the nomination in advance of the mid-July gathering.
But pressed on whether he will need to “denounce” Trump’s candidacy altogether, Ryan said, “I do not believe I will have to do that. But we’re going to have to work with whoever our nominee is”.
Ryan has previously criticized Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the U.S.as well as his apparent hesitation to distance himself from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Ryan said the choice should be from the remaining candidates “on whatever ballot we’re talking about”, and that speculation about him as a candidate should be “put to rest”.
On Monday, Ryan suggested Trump needed to take some responsibility for some of the violence that has broken out at his recent rallies, calling it “very concerning”. “If not, the delegates will make the decision, and they’re elected”.
“The Republican primary voter is going to make the decision on who are nominee is going to be”, he added.
Ryan has been touted as a possible dark-horse candidate for president this year, but the speaker repeated Thursday that he is not running.
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“I saw Boehner last night and I told him to knock it off”, Ryan told reporters, admitting that he “used slightly different words”. The Wisconsin Republican, thrust into the speakership after predecessor John Boehner was squeezed out, said Thursday that he is not interested in being the savior of a GOP establishment appalled by Trump. “It’s not going to be me”.
