House Speaker
Paul Ryan dealt his own party's presidential nominee a withering blow Monday,
telling fellow Republicans he will no longer defend Donald Trump and will
instead use the next 29 days to focus on preserving his party's hold on
Congress.
"The speaker is going to spend the next month focused
entirely on protecting our congressional majorities," Ryan's spokeswoman,
AshLee Strong, said in a statement.
The move highly unusual in US political history laid bare the
seemingly intractable divisions now seizing the Republican Party with a month
left before the presidential vote. Support for Trump among the GOP
establishment, already weak amid disagreements over policy and tone, has now
eroded to new lows.
In a conference call with members Monday morning, Ryan told
lawmakers, "you all need to do what's best for you and your
district," according to someone who listened to the meeting.
"He will spend his entire energy making sure that Hillary
Clinton does not get a blank check with a Democrat-controlled Congress,"
said the person on the call an implied acknowledgment that Trump no longer
appears able to capture the White House.
Reaction to Ryan's decision illustrates the schism currently
splitting the Republican Party. A person who listened to the call said the
reaction wasn't entirely positive and that Ryan's comments angered more
conservative GOP members who believed the speaker was essentially conceding the
presidential contest to Clinton.
Source:CNN
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