Former President Donald Trump is a “drag” on the Republican party, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan told local media in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin.
“I think Trump’s kind of a drag on our ticket. I think Donald Trump gives us problems, politically. We lost the House, the Senate and the White House in two years when Trump was on the ballot, or in office,” WISN reports Ryan said. “I think we just have some Trump hangover. I think he’s a drag on our office, on our races.”
Trump-backed candidates in toss-up races have performed below expectations or are neck-and-neck in battleground states. In addition, dozens of GOP election-denier candidates lost their races.
Ryan is the latest of a string of politicians to begin casting blame at Trump for a lackluster midterm. While it is likely the party may take the House, it is not known how many seats will be gained, and the Senate majority is still up for grabs.
While some in the party say it’s time for Trump to take a smaller seat within the GOP, the former president is blaming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for poor turnouts, columnist for The Hill Niall Stanage told Morning in America.
Ryan seemed confident with the chances Republicans could reclaim the White House in 2024 — with one condition.
“I assume he’s going to announce, but I honestly don’t think he’ll get the nomination at the end of the day,” Ryan told the TV station. “It’s really clear to me and the evidence is pretty stark that if we have a nominee not named Trump, we’re so much more likely to win the White House than if our candidate’s named Trump.”
“We have to offer the country a better way forward. I think we have to offer the country solutions,” Ryan continued. “We have to offer the country a really clear and compelling choice as to how our party is ripe and ready to solve big problems confronting the country and that we’re putting leaders forward that people can vote for that they want to vote for.”
Meanwhile, Trump is receiving calls to delay any announcement of his candidacy for the presidential election in 2024 in light of outstanding race results. A press conference is currently still scheduled for next week.