If you’ve noticed Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been a less-than-enthusiastic supporter of Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting Donald Trump, you’re not alone.
And according to a new report Friday, one GOP insider is now explaining why. The unnamed “longtime Republican financial backer”—who attended a New York fundraiser held by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for Trump Thursday—told TheDailyCaller that most Republican donors are on board with Trump, yet Ryan is hoping Trump loses so he can run himself in four years.
The source tells TheDC that the reason Ryan has not been coming out strongly for Trump is because of his desire to run in four years. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has been fervently anti-Trump, also wants to run in four years, according to the longtime Republican backer. Romney will be 73 in 2020.
An aide for Ryan told TheDC, “Speaker Ryan said in an op-ed in the Janesville Gazette last week that he is voting for Donald Trump and of course he wants the Republican nominee to win in November.”
It has been widely speculated for months that Ryan may have been using his position in Congress to position himself for a 2020 run. The 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate was considered one of the early favorites for 2016 until he announced he wouldn’t seek the party’s presidential nomination.
He now faces a stiff primary challenge—unprecedented for a sitting speaker—in Wisconsin’s First Congressional District.
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