Can Ryan get it right both ways?
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Paul Ryan told GOP lawmakers he wouldn't 'defend' Trump after 'Access Hollywood' tape
"Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) reportedly told House Republicans that they could feel free to abandon President Trump after a tape of him making vulgar comments about women emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Ryan made the remarks in what was described as a rare conference call three days after the "Access Hollywood" tape emerged in October 2016, according to an excerpt from the new book, "A Hill to Die On," as reported by Axios.
"I am not going to defend Donald Trump," Ryan said, according to the book. "Not now, not in the future."
Ryan and Trump were known to have had a rocky relationship during Trump's first two years as president. Trump once asked the former Speaker why he wasn't more "loyal" to him in 2017, according to a book written by Cliff Sims, formerly a White House communications staffer.
Axios, citing "A Hill To Die On," notes that Trump said he was able to give Ryan a pass for his disloyalty "because it's life and we sort of need each other a little bit."
Ryan predicted in March that Trump would win reelection in 2020 because of his ideas and "record of accomplishment."
"We're clearly better off because of [Trump]," he tweeted. "His record of accomplishment is why he'll win re-election especially when compared to Dems' leftward lurch."
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| Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios |
Trump to Paul Ryan after Access Hollywood tape: "You're just a Boy Scout"
"You'll find a trove of deeply sourced reporting in the new book, out Tuesday, by Politico's Playbook authors Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer. Here's a taste of the reporting from Trump's Washington, found in "The Hill to Die On."
