Trump Blasts Former Speaker Ryan As A ‘Curse’ On Party

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Former President Donald Trump is not pleased with former House Speaker Paul Ryan's remarks suggesting that it is time for the Republican Party to move on from the controversial Trump presidency.

On Friday, Trump released a statement targeting Ryan, whom he refers to as a "RINO" — a Republican in Name Only. The former president lambasted Ryan, although the former speaker did not criticize Trump by name.

Trump also attempted to blame Ryan, who was a candidate for vice president, for the political party's loss in 2012 as he insisted that he shouldn't be the person to offer advice about the future of the party.

In the statement, Trump said, "Paul Ryan has been a curse to the Republican Party. He has no clue as to what needs to be done for our Country, was a weak and ineffective leader, and spends all of his time fighting Republicans as opposed to Democrats who are destroying our Country."

Trump's fiery remarks came less than a day after Ryan's speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. During his speech, Ryan acknowledged the "crossroads" the party is facing.

"Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here's one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere," Ryan said on Thursday, May 28.

Though the speech was interpreted as a criticism of the GOP's direction under Trump, it did not attack the former president by name. In, fact, when he did name Trump, it was to praise him: "To his credit, Donald Trump brought many new voters into our party."

Ryan was, however, critical of Trump's allies in Congress and elsewhere, saying people "will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago." And he did say: "It was horrifying to see a presidency come to such a dishonorable and disgraceful end."

Of course, the former House speaker also criticized President Biden.

"In 2020, the country wanted a nice guy who would move to the center and depolarize our politics," Ryan said. "Instead, we got a nice guy pursuing an agenda more leftist than any president in my lifetime."