House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI)
U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan says he will not defend Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump or campaign with him before the election next month.
The comment came on a call with House Republicans this morning. According to someone on the call, Ryan also told members that they need to do what’s best for them in their districts and that he plans to spend his entire energy making sure Hillary Clinton does not have a “blank check” with a Congress controlled by Democrats.
“The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities,” said Ryan spokesman Zack Roday.
The Janesville Republican has been keeping his distance from Trump for much of the campaign, often criticizing the GOP nominee for comments made on the campaign trail. The two were set to make their first appearance together over the weekend at a rally in Elkhorn, but Trump’s stop was cancelled after a video surfaced Friday that shows the nominee making several lewd comments about women in 2005. Ryan said in a statement released Friday night that he was “sickened” by what Trump had said.
Trump has apologized for his remarks, which he described as “locker room” talk. However, many Republicans pulled their support for the nominee over the weekend. As for whether Ryan plans to rescind his endorsement, Roday only said “There is no update in his position at this time.”