Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan warned that as long as Republicans follow Trump, they will continue to lose elections.
Video of Ryan:
Ryan said on ABC’s This Week:
I personally think the evidence is really clear. The biggest factor was the Trump factor. Just look at how Chris Sununu ran ahead against — ahead of Bolduc in New Hampshire. Look at where Kemp ran ahead of Walker in Georgia. So, I think we would have — clearly have won the Senate had we had traditional Republicans in the general election like these governors did. I think we would have won places like Arizona and Pennsylvania and New Hampshire had we had a typical and traditional conservative Republican, not a Trump Republican.
So, I think what we now know, it’s pretty clear is, with Trump we lose. So, I don’t mean this personally, it’s just — it’s just evidence. We lost the House in ’18. We lost the presidency in ’20. We lost the Senate in ’20. And now, in 2022, we should have and could have won the Senate. We didn’t. And we have a much lower majority in the House because of that Trump factor.
So, I think it’s just — it’s palpable right now. We — we get past Trump, we start winning elections. We stick with Trump, we keep losing elections. That’s just how I see it.
Ryan was right. Republicans will keep losing for as long as Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, which is great news for Democrats because it looks like the Republican base is not close to kicking Trump to the curb.
Donald Trump doesn’t need to have 60%-70% support to win the Republican presidential nomination. He won it with a solid 35% in the 2016 primary, and if 2024 is another crowded field, that same 35% should be enough to land him the nomination.
Trump has turned the GOP into the party of losers, and if he continues to run the show, Republicans better prepare for so much losing in 2024.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
