Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that it would be a “disaster” if the Republican Party nominated former President Donald Trump in 2024 and “dangerous” if he wins, which would be possible.
Discussing Trump Tuesday night at the Aspen Ideas Festival, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said, “It’s really important for Democrats to take him seriously. There can be a tendency for people on the Democratic side to say, ‘Well, look, sure, the Republicans will nominee him. The Republicans are a mess, but we’ll be able to beat him in a general.’” She went on, “And that is playing with fire. It’s a risk we can’t take. So I think it’s really important for everyone to look at the threat that he poses outside of party ideology. It’s something we got to take very seriously and stand against.”
Host Joe Kernen said, “Talk about … Trump and who the Republicans can run.”
Ryan said, “It is a disaster if we nominate Trump. You know I think that. I have been saying that for a long time. But Liz is right, which is, that he could win. I think we lose with him. I think we are much more likely to lose. We haven’t won with him since he first won in 16. We lost the House in ’18, the presidency in ’20, the Senate in ’20, and we could have won the Senate in 2022 but for him.
He continued, “I’m for anybody not named Trump right now.”
Ryan added, “I’m a Never Again Trumper. So, obviously, the 33 percent base doesn’t like a person like me. I’m very clear: I don’t think he’s fit, and I don’t think he could win. Liz is right: he could, and that is dangerous.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN.
