(BrightPress.org) – Former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan slammed Trump as “not a conservative,” branding him instead an “authoritarian narcissist.”
Ryan hailed infamous RINOs (Republicans in name only) Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their staunch opposition to Trump. Both lost their seats in Congress due to their obsessions with the former President ultimately proving unpopular with their constituents.
Ryan has been sitting on the board of Fox News since he stepped away from politics in 2019.
The comments came during a recent podcast where Ryan sat down with Kevin Kajiwara, one of the presidents of Teneo Political Risk Advisory. Ryan took flak for not being critical of Trump enough during his tenure as House Speaker from both Democrats and Republicans.
He cites the 2017 Trump tax cuts as one of his biggest achievements in Congress. He is also proud of boosting defense spending.
Despite being the only President ever impeached twice, Trump wasn’t convicted in either preceding. Critics occasionally blame Ryan for that failure. Trump now stands charged with 91 criminal allegations from his chief political rival President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, leading many to suggest the allegations are largely fabricated to abrogate Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Ryan said that Trump is an authoritarian narcissist with a major following from the Republican base “because he’s the cultural warrior.”
Writers attempting to understand Trump’s base typically refuse to ask his supporters why they like him. They cite opposition to Barack Obama and the Tea Party movement while implicitly or explicitly suggesting racism and white supremacy are involved.
Ryan said that many people in Washington believed Trump was finished after the second impeachment regarding the events of January 6th. He cited that belief as the reason why many did not vote in support of conviction for impeachment.
He further argued that history would reflect positively on those who were critical of Trump, like Kinzinger and Cheney. Whether or not that holds true remains to be seen.
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