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Donald Trump Refuses to Endorse Rep. Paul Ryan PDF Print E-mail
Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Brandon Weathersby   
Tuesday, 02 August 2016 22:12

donald-trumpRepublican Party and TV talking heads coming apart at the seams as Trump campaign bounces from one insult to another.


MADISON - Today, just two weeks after their doomsday national convention in Cleveland, the Republican Party displayed how splintered the party remains. In an unprecedented move, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump refused to endorse the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, in his August primary election.

paul_ryanEven before Trump said today that he's "just not quite there yet" on endorsing Ryan in his 1st Congressional District primary, the Speaker came out refusing to attend Trump's event in Green Bay this Friday. But Ryan isn't the only Wisconsin Republican leader skipping his Presidential nominee's event, with Sen. Ron Johnson ducking out and Gov. Scott Walker avoiding to say if he will attend, it seems no one wants to stand next to the man who continues to attack the parents of a fallen American hero.

Read excerpts from the story below.

Trump praises Paul Ryan's challenger
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By: Mary Spicuzza

Donald Trump is refusing to back House Speaker Paul Ryan's re-election bid, instead praising the political newcomer trying to unseat him.

The Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday that he is "not quite there yet" in endorsing his party's top-ranking elected official, and in the same interview praised Ryan's opponent, Paul Nehlen. His comments came just one week before Wisconsin's August 9 primary.

Trump praised Nehlen for running “a very good campaign" in an interview with The Washington Post, adding that Ryan has sought his endorsement, but as of now he is only “giving it very serious consideration.”

“I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump told the Post. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”

His comments came just one day after Trump gave a shoutout to Nehlen on Twitter, thanking him for his "kind words" amid criticism from Ryan and other Republican leaders over Trump's comments about the Muslim parents of a U.S. soldier who was killed in action in Iraq.

"Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated," Trump tweeted.

Nehlen promptly tweeted a response, quoting Trump's own campaign slogan.

"My pleasure, Sir," he wrote. "Just want to Make America Great Again."

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Trump is officially supporting Nehlen, a Delavan businessman and first-time candidate.

When asked about the Twitter exchange, a Ryan spokesman said the Janesville Republican is focused on November.

"Rather than engage in a back-and-forth, the speaker is going to remain focused entirely on ensuring we deliver strong Republican majorities this fall," spokesman Zack Roday said.

Ryan will not be in attendance when Trump holds a rally planned for Friday in Green Bay because he has a full schedule in southern Wisconsin that day, Roday said.

Nehlen campaign staffers did not immediately respond to questions about whether he would attend Trump's rally.

The real estate mogul became just the latest high-profile conservative to praise Nehlen, who is planning a rally of his own on Saturday, when conservative political commentator Ann Coulter is set to join him to “rally the vote and term limit Paul Ryan."

“Paul Ryan has had 18 years to prove he’ll vote the will of our district and he failed,” Nehlen said in the event announcement. “It’s time to bring real representation back to Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.”

Nehlen has been running to the right of Ryan, targeting the Janesville Republican over issues like trade, Wall Street and immigration. A television ad released by Nehlen last week featured a mother whose son was killed by an immigrant illegally living in the United States.

Nehlen has tried to portray Ryan, who first took office in 1999 and was the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, as part of the D.C. elite who’s forgotten about his district back in Wisconsin. In his ads, Nehlen has portrayed himself as a he tattooed, motorcycle-riding outsider standing up for Janesville and the rest of the district.

[...]

It’s rare for one former vice presidential nominee to take on another from the same party, but several months ago Palin declared Ryan’s political career to be “over,” and vowed to help defeat him in the August primary.

Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, announced in May that she would work to oust Ryan by backing Nehlen. She said the move came after Ryan initially refused to endorse Trump.

[...]


Read the full article here.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 August 2016 16:38
 
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