Donald Trump renews attack on ‘weak, ineffective, stupid’ Republican Paul Ryan
- US president called the Democrat’s House leader ‘far superior’ to Ryan, who decided not to seek re-election to his Wisconsin seat in 2018
US President Donald Trump criticised Paul Ryan for a third day, saying the former House speaker “almost killed the Republican Party”.
“Weak, ineffective & stupid are not exactly the qualities that Republicans, or CITIZENS of our Country, were looking for,” Trump said in a pair of Twitter messages on Saturday afternoon, days before the publication of a book in which Ryan reportedly criticises the president.
Trump called Democrat minority leader Kevin McCarthy “far superior” to Ryan, who decided not to seek re-election to his Wisconsin House seat in 2018. Under Ryan’s leadership the Republicans lost their majority in the House in the 2018 midterm elections.
The president has taken on Ryan after an interview the former lawmaker gave to author Tim Alberta for the book American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump, which is said to describe Trump’s ascendance to the White House. The book is expected to be released on July 16.
In his book, Ryan is quoted as saying: “We’ve gotten so numbed by it all. Not in government, but where we live our lives, we have a responsibility to try and rebuild. Don’t call a woman a ‘horse face’. Don’t cheat on your wife. Don’t cheat on anything. Set a good example.”
Ryan also claims he helped Trump “make much better decisions, which were contrary to kind of what his knee-jerk reaction was”.