Donald Trump Slams ‘Loser’ Paul Ryan Amid 2024 Comments

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Donald Trump attacked former House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday after he said he would skip the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC) if the former president wins the GOP presidential nomination.

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who led the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, has long had a rocky relationship with the former president despite working together during the first two years of the Trump administration. Ryan was one of several Republicans who advocated for the GOP to distance itself from Trump leading up to the 2024 presidential race, despite the ex-president being viewed as the frontrunner, as he remains popular with large swathes of Republican voters.

In an interview with Milwaukee-based television news station WISN-TV on Sunday, Ryan was pressed on whether he would attend the 2024 RNC, which is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, the largest city in the critical swing state of Wisconsin. .

He said, his attendance depends “on who is nominated.”

A split image of former President Donald Trump and former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump blasted Ryan on Sunday’s Truth Social after he said he would not attend the 2024 Republican National Convention if the former president becomes the GOP presidential nominee. Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“I would be here if it weren’t for a guy named Trump,” Ryan added.

In a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, the former president slammed Ryan and appeared to blame him for Senator Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential loss. Ryan ran on Romney’s ticket as his vice president, but ultimately lost to former President Barack Obama’s re-election.

“Paul Ryan is a loser, Mitt Romney can win without him. I won twice, better the second time, and went 233 Wins in 253 Midterms. Paul Ryan is destroying Fox, and unelected dogcatcher in the Republican Party!” Trump wrote, appearing to refer to his own unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Despite Trump boasting about his endorsed candidates performing well during the 2022 GOP primaries, Ryan raised concerns about Trump’s selectivity, pointing out that some candidates he supports have underperformed in the midterms last November.

“We know we will lose to him,” the former House speaker said. “He cost us the House in 18. He cost us the White House in 20. He cost us the Senate in 20. He cost us the Senate again in 22. He probably bought us a dozen seats in the House in 2022. It’s a lesson we need not repeat.”

Despite the criticism from Ryan, Trump remains popular with many GOP voters, as polls show him as the favorite to win the nomination in 2024. Polls also show a tight race against President Joe Biden, should he be seen of the two themselves in a rematch of the 2020 election.

Both Trump and Ryan have previously clashed after Ryan spoke out against the former president after his presidency, particularly after a group of Trump supporters rioted in the US Capitol building in a failed effort to prevent Congress from prove Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. Ryan also criticized members of his party who “didn’t have the guts to impeach Trump” following the insurrection.

Meanwhile, Trump called Ryan a “RINO,” the acronym for Republican in Name Only, for opposing his leadership. Ryan said Sunday that while he may be seen as a “RINO” in the contemporary GOP, he maintains that he is conservative on important issues.

“Back in my day a ‘RINO was somebody who was more moderate versus conservative. I’m conservative. Today, a RINO is how much fealty you pledge to Donald Trump. I’m very low on that,” he said.

Newsweek has reached Ryan’s office for comment.

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