Posted on 07/13/2016 1:58:51 AM PDT by nikos1121
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan defended his decision to support Donald Trump Tuesday, disagreeing with the candidate on several issues but saying that refusing to back Trump amounts to supporting Hillary Clinton.
"It's a binary choice," Ryan told a skeptical voter at a CNN town hall Tuesday. "It is either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton you don't get a third option. It's one or the other and I know where I want to go."
Ryan has spoken out against Trump before, including disavowing his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and Trump's attack on a federal judge with "Mexican heritage" presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University.
After a voter told Ryan he couldn't vote for Trump over what he called racism, Ryan responded: "That basically means you're going to help elect Hillary Clinton. And I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to support any of the things that you stand for if you're a Republican."
Related: Trump Tries Out Pence as Fourth Veepstakes Contender
Ryan repeated his disagreements with Trump on the Muslim ban and a proposal to deport the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. Ryan Tuesday said that deporting the country's undocumented immigrants wouldn't be right or feasible. But Ryan said Trump is more likely to advance conservative principles than Clinton, and could make the next Supreme Court appointment.
"In the balance of things, he clearly outweighs the good clearly outweighs the things I don't agree with," Ryan said.
Ryan also acknowledged the mistrust felt by some conservatives in the party over Trump. Ryan said one of the most important qualities he's looking for in Trump's running mate is conservative values.
"I would like someone to assure conservatives that conservative principles will be adhered to and maintained throughout not just the campaign but throughout his presidency," Ryan said.
The speaker of the House said of Trump: "I'd say he's new to this, and he's been on different sides of different issues. He has good positions now. On most things we have common ground I just want to make sure there's going to be consistency."
Ryan also said he had no opinion and would not intervene on the rules set up by the Republican Convention. A group is seeking to change the rules to allow delegates to vote their conscience. "I'm not going to tell the delegates what to do; it is their decision because they run the party," Ryan said.
Ryan also differed in tone from Trump in his response to the "black lives matter" movement, calling for an end to divisive language in the aftermath of a sniper attack that killed five Dallas police officers. Trump on the "The O'Reilly Factor" Tuesday accused the movement of dividing the country.
"I just don't think we should be talking about dividing at all," Ryan said. "I think we should be talking about unifying." Ryan said the phrase "black lives matter" means "People feel like they're being discriminated against and they're not safe because of the color of their skin. That's profound."
I think it’s time for Paul Ryan to either come and support our nominee or shut up. I sick of this guy.
Ryan’s supporting Trump? Could’ve fooled me.
The Ryan clown sets off my gaydar every time he speaks.
I swear he’s a limp-wrist.
Ryan must have saw his internal poll numbers.
I don’t believe him for 1 second. Ryan is a fraud
That’s support??! Jack the Ripper’s better then hitlery. And jack’s a lot more honest and
has less blood on his hands too. How can we get this jerk out of office?
It looks like Trump will pull in more Sanders supporters than he'll lose from the globalists who've abused Republican voters for decades.
#DumpRyan
He’s Eddie Munster with an Eddie Haskell attitude.
Damning with faint praise...
Ryan is not perfect but he is better than Nancy Pelosi.
Ryan, the faux conservative, just cannot control himself.
Ryan, the disgraceful jerk who cut the pensions of retired veterans and disabled military veterans in 2013, just saw his poll numbers I gather.
Wow, what a ringing endorsement! Paul Ryan is unfit for the job.
Paulo Lyin is lower than a maggot . F You Paulo and the horse you rode in on .
Just shut up already Paul
Ryan, of course he is, you dipstick! Why do you think Trump swept the primaries so handily? It is because he not only is conservative, but he is a real outside of the beltway person. Unlike politicians, he understands the issues.
I think Ryan must have noticed his tanking poll numbers and is speaking up now to try to reverse the trend.
You talk about damning with faint praise. Every time Ryan opens his mouth, he lets it be known that Trump does not measure up to his own divine status.
Mike Lee likes to portray himself as a stickler for the Constitution, questioning Trump’s views on the Constitution.
Then, Lee, the great champion of the Constitution, wants to ignore the primary votes of the people who followed Constitutional principles utilizing a system designed to implement Constitutional principles and that put Trump over the top.
Same goes for Cruz. It could make people think that these people are not concerned with the Constitution at all.
Spot on!
I really do not understand why Ryan refuses to back Trump.
Ryan has to be intelligent or he would not have gotten as far as he has so quickly. He is hurting himself by not supporting Trump. He is facing a primary challenge and losing support in his own district.
Even if you assume Ryan cares only about himself and not his country, his actions seem to be ruining his career.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.