UNDATED (AP) – Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is joining the fight against Donald Trump, urging fellow conservatives to reject the former president’s divisive politics and the Republican leaders who emulate him.
Ryan made the remarks Thursday during an evening address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California after two years of relative silence.
Referencing the Capitol insurrection that Trump inspired, Ryan said it was “horrifying to see a presidency come to such a dishonorable and disgraceful end.”
He says conservatives are at a crossroads and urged Republicans against embracing “the populist appeal of one personality” or “second-rate imitations.”
The event was a fund-raiser for Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who is a staunch opponent of the former president.
Trump was highly critical of the former House Speaker 2 years ago over comments blasting Trump including in a book by Politico’s chief political correspondent Tim Alberta. In the book, Ryan is quoted as saying, “Ryan said Trump “didn’t know anything about government” and that he wanted to “scold him all the time.””
In reaction Trump said, “The only success Paul Ryan had was the time that he was with me. He was a baby. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”
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